Thunderbird Magazine, Volume 55, Number 1 2002

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STRATEGIES
• ENTREPRENEURS IN OTI'tER LANDS
• HOME TO IRAN
THUNDERB I RD Maga z in e WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
THUNDERBIRD
Page 2
How Multinationals Sustain
Competitive Advantage
Rapid globalization means more entrants into
more markets. Getting or staying ahead takes work.
Page 8
The HR Side of Competitive
Advantage
People are fast becoming precious assets. How do
you attract, keep and move the very best?
Page 10
The Secrets of Achieving
Regional Business Success
Understanding how culture, language, demograph­ics
and politics impact a region is half the battle.
Page 16
Professional Consulting
Thunderbird runs a "big league" consulting service
that taps alumni and students for intelligence.
Page 24
Home to Iran
Samira Showghi '95 wasn't prepared for a journey
back to her childhood and heritage.
Page 28
Entrepreneurship in
Foreign Lands
T-birds tend to be highly entrepreneurial.
So why not start that business abroad?
T A BLE OF CO NTEN TS
Ranked # 1 in international business
by The Wall Street Journal and
U. S. News & World Report
Thunderbird is America's premier source of global
management education with operations in the U.S.,
France, Russia, China, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Brazil.
Page 1
THUND ERBIRD 'S COMPETITIVE
POSITION
Schools aren't immune from competition. Even
Thunderbird has had to evolve.
Page 19
M&AS FROM TEN PERSPECTIVES
Success comes from analyzing mergers from all angles.
A single course is team-taught by 10 experts.
Page 20
AN AMERICAN IN CUBA
Looking inside a ·restricted" land.
Page 26
A EUROPEAN AT THUNDERBIRD
An exchange student from ESSEC, a French "grande
ecole, " calls T-bird a rich multicultural experience.
Page 32
WINTER IM IN ASIA
Students spent three weeks in Korea, China and
Thailand learning the lay of each land.
Page 34
SUSTA INING PERSONAL ADVANTAGE
Executive Education that provides a needed edge.
Page 36
STRATEG IC CA REER MANAGEMENT
AT THUNDERBIRD
That all-important staff/student partnership just got
more intense.
Page 38
T- BIRD NEWS
Page 40
NETWORK NEWS
Page 44
UPDATES
ABOUT OUR COVER
Costa Rica-based Hector GOTOsabel '87,
vice president, North Latin America Division,
The Coca-Cola Company. called innovative marketing,
an outstanding distribution system and the
Coca-Cola brand itself some of his company's
best sources of advantage.
~~------------
55/1/2002 P AGE
ONE
For the past two years the Thunderbird community has been
engaged in an active and vigorous discussion about the future of
the School, its academic programs and the marketing face we use
to describe our programs. That discussion came into focus with the
spring meeting of the School's Board of Trustees. Over the course of that
month, faculty and staff, alumni, current students, our Trustees and
members of the Thunderbird Global Council met. The resulting debate
was often passionate, which
diploma. Those graduating from the four-semester program will also
have a non-English language proficiency listed and the opportunity to
earn a regional focus designation as well.
While the conversation about the name of the degree has been a
major focus for us for the last few months, it has hardly been the only
focus. We have also focused extensively on the progress being made on
the expansion of Thunderbird Europe in Archamps, France. The new
facility is being built in part­only
speaks to how deeply
so many of us care about
this institution and its lega­cy.
It was also a very helpful
process in leading the Board
to a condusion.
THUNDERBIRD'S
COMPETITIVE POSITION
nership with the Haute­Savoie
District government
and should be fully opera­tional
by the fall trimester.
Formal dedication cere­monies
are scheduled for
October 3 during our fall
Board meetings.
Fundamentally, the Board
made three key decisions.
• The Trustees reaffirmed
the School's commitment
to its tradition: an interna­tional
management educa­tion
built on a tripartite
base of business disciplines,
language and communica­tions
and international
coursework.
The expansion of Thun­derbird
Europe marks a
major strategic initiative for
the School. In anticipation
of the new faci lity, we have
already begun offering stu­dents
the opportunity to
start their Thunderbird pro­gram
in Archamps. In fact,
almost one quarter of our
Summer 2002 entering stu­dents
chose that option.
The new facility also posi­tions
Thunderbird to be
• They charged the Thun­derbird
administration and
faculty with ensuring that
everything the school does
is true to that vision of
international management.
• They approved the con­solidation
of Thunderbird's
two full-time degree pro­grams
into one program
with two tracks with the
By DR. ROy A. HERBERGER, JR., PRESIDENT, THUNDERBIRD
much more competitive in
the European executive edu­cation
market. allowing us
to build significant and
mutually productive rela-name
of the degree awarded
in both tracks being a Master of Business Administration in Inter­national
Management.
The program and character, the foundational philosophy of Thunder­bird,
was not changed.
Going forward students at Thunderbird will be awarded the MBA in
International Management. Students who come to us as part of a dual
degree program with another institution, or who have already earned
their MBA elsewhere, will continue to be awarded the Master of Inter­national
Management (MIM).
The MBA in International Management will be awarded to those
enrolled in the School's traditional four-semester course of study (Track
1) as well as those choosing Thunderbird's one-year/three semester pro­gram
(Track II) . Detailed descriptions of the content in both tracks can
be found on our website (www.thunderbird.edu). Students in both
tracks take the same courses and receive the same international manage­ment
core central to a Thunderbird education. Students graduating from
both programs will have their individual specialization noted on their
tionships with more Euro­pean
corporations.
Our strategy for several years has included diversifying the School
both programmatically and geographically. Adding the one-year track to
the full time program offerings, launching executive degree programs
with partners in Brazil, Taiwan and Mexico and the expansion ofThun­derbird
Europe are all examples. We believe that to position Thunder­bird
as a truly global institution, both of these forms of diversification
are critical to our long-term vitality.
Taking this course has meant making some upfront investments in
facilities and programs, but we are seeing the returns and are confident
they will continue to increase. We do, however, dearly recognize that it
will take focus and effort on our part to ensure our success. This is dear­ly
not a case of "if you build it, they will come." The new Thunderbird
Europe gives us a state-of-the-art management education facility; but
what will attract students and corporations to us will be the quality of
our content and instruction and our ability to showcase those capabili­ties
effectively to the right audiences. That is a challenge, but one we
eagerly embrace. •
p.2 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU 55/1/2002
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERBIRD . EDU p.3
HOW MULTINATIONALS
SUSTAIN COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
• Consumers drink my beverages at the rate of 12,600
units per second . • I sell those drinks in nearly every
nation. • And even though at 116 I've been around
awhile, I'm still a market leader. • Who am I?
ong one of the world's
most recognized compa­nies
and brands, Coca­Cola
continues to pros­per
by innovating and
adapting to the local
needs of its customers
and consumers throughout the world. Despite
ferocious competition, significant currency
devaluations in key markets and major acquisi­tion-
related write-downs, the company report­ed
first quarter 2002 sales of US$4.08 billion
and has predicted long term growth approach­ing
six percent.
What is Coca-Cola's formula for success? Is it
simply a case of having the right product and
brand? Or is it more than that? Just what does
it take for a multinational like Coca-Cola to
sustain its competitive advantage?
"Our flagship Coca-Cola brand empowers us,
without a doubt, with a tremendous competi­tive
advantage and a solid foundation for suc­cess.
But it is just one of many elements that
enable Coca-Cola to create increasing levels of
value in an ever changi~g market environment,"
said Hector GorosabeJ '87, vice president,
North Latin America Division, The Coca-Cola
Company. "I'd have to say that an innovative
marketing approach and our unmatched distri­bution
system are important as well, as is our
focused, consistent approach to doing business.
"Exactly what the brand means is a difficult
question for Coca-Cola, since the brand has the
unique ability to connect with people on a vari­ety
of emotional and functional levels. [ can tell
you that we believe the brand stands for
BY LINDSEY MICHAELS
authenticity, for refreshment, and for enjoy­ment.
But I can also tell you that people who
drink Coca-Cola often do so because of the
enduring, emotional and refreshing connection
they have with the brand."
Yet Coke is only one of the 230 brands Coca­Cola
sells around the world. The company con­tinues
to leverage its competitive strengths as it
selectively broadens its family of beverage
brands to drive profitable growth. "We are com­mitted
to meeting the diverse preferences of
consumers by offering branded beverage solu­tions
in a variety of beverage categories and con­sumption
occasions," said Gorosabel. Several
examples of this diversified focus come in the
form of the Minute Maid juice and Dasani water
products. These two brands alone now yield a
significant portion of the company's revenues.
"Coke employs a Think local. Act local:
market strategy founded on the principal that
the company exists to benefit and refresh all
those who are touched by its brands," said
Gorosabel. Given that the product is so rela­tionship
based, the company tries to put locals
in charge of operations whenever possible -
believing they better understand local con­sumers,
as well as their social, economic and
political issues.
"As for our distribution system, our objective
is to ensure that ice cold Coca-Cola is always
within an arm's reach of local consumers,
whenever and wherever they need the physical
or emotional refreshment of the unique Coca­Cola
taste sensation."
To deliver on that goal, Coca-Cola has con­structed
an unrivaled worldwide bottling net-work;
consisting of a combination of privately­owned,
company-owned and jointly-owned
bottling operations.
More than two-thirds of Coca-Cola's unit
sales take place outside of the U.S.; while three­quarters
of the company's operating income
comes from overseas.
"The key is creating a shared vision with our
bottling partners; one based on respect and
mutual success," said Gorosabel. "Although we
have different goals and responsibilities within
the value chain, we ultimately share the same
goal: To creatively and consistently form mean­ingful
relationships with consumers. Our con­tinued
success lies in our ability to grow system
profitability and capability together with our
bottling partners while consistently focusing
on these relationships. "
The company and its bottlers share a propri­etary
supply chain system that provides almost
up-to-the-minute sales details. "We're so well
connected that if you asked me how much of
each product we sold today in some small 200-
person Venezuelan town, I could probably tell
you." That system allows everyone along the
value chain to have a clear picture of exactly
what's selling, how different promotions are
affecting sales and where stock must be replen­ished.
Which all makes customer relationship
management much easier and more effective.
"There's a tremendous amount of work done
at the country, city and even neighborhood
level that helps us understand what our con­sumers
want and why they want it," explained
Gorosabel. "We have a set of indicators that we
follow on a daily basis, which include sales,
p.4
revenues, product packages and channels. We
also track things daily on an in-store basis using
a variety of research methodologies."
One such technique is old-fashioned obser­vation.
According to Gorosabel, his best market
intelligence often comes from his store sales
people. That's because they're in retail locations
talking to management and customers almost
every day. "While they're there, they check our
point-of-purchase advertising, ensure that
everything is dean and that the prices are
marked dearly. But the most important thing
they do is build valuable relationships," said
Gorosabel. "These value based relationships
make it harder for other companies to compete
on price alone."
All that primary and secondary data flows
upward electronically through each region
until it reaches the firm's Atlanta headquarters.
Teams there analyze this information and
begin to form - or act upon - new products
and strategies.
"A lot of our new product development takes
place centrally in Atlanta," said Gorosabel. "But
each region also has at least one major product
development center and several minor ones. In
my case, our primary innovation center is locat­ed
in Rio de Janeiro."
Coca-Cola's innovation centers can experi­ment
with new products for local consumers,
sharing their most promising new finds with
their corporate headquarters.
"Today's consumers are increasingly more
sophisticated. They want more choices - and
the opportunity to change from time to time. In
Japan, for instance, where the market is extreme­ly
dynamic, we introduce more than 200 new
products each year. That's one every day and a
half or so. Other new product introductions, like
Diet Coke with Lemon and VaniLla Coke, offer
consumers exciting new twists on two of the
world's most loved global brands."
"When you get right down to it, products are
the only things that make money for a compa­ny.
Everything else is just a cost. So you have to
have an effective global product development
process and strategy," said Dr. Sundaresan Ram,
an associate professor of marketing who teach­es
Thunderbird's Global Product Development
and Management program.
"With global companies, products aren't just
in different stages of their life cydes. The same
product is often in different stages in different
countries simultaneously."
According to Ram, successful global compa­nies
typically have cross functional/cross geo­graphical
"innovation teams." Those teams
must anticipate market shifts, evaluate concepts
from diverse perspectives, then shepherd prod­ucts
all the way through from design through
WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU
launch. They must also obtain country-specific
insight and country-head buy-in early in the
design process and then execute the rollout.
"Coca-Cola and Gillette have their imple­mentation
process down to a fine art," said
Ram. "Both have strong global distribution net­works
and a thorough understanding that shelf
space is key in consumer marketing. Both also
have strong brands - which they support heav­ily
with advertising - so both can pretty much
get whatever shelf space they want or need.
"The real reason they get that shelf space
though is because their products sell. That's the
bottom line. And they sell because the people
in those companies generally do their home­work
- and do it well."
With some notable exceptions.
"Everyone knows that New Coke was a disas­ter,
a rare instance where someone's gut must
have meant more than good research," said
Ram. "But the New Coke product launch itself
was phenomenal. All manufacturing, distribu­tion
and advertising systems
worked extremely well."
Ram called that repetition
another competitive advan­tage.
Having done multiple
multi-site product launches for
many years, the company now
does them seamlessly. Ram
termed the company's strong
relationships and local knowl­edge
two other advantages.
"When I lived in India, for
instance," Ram said. "I used to
buy my razor blades one at a
time at the little Mom & Pop
store down our street. Then I
went home, broke the blade in
two and shared half with my
brother. There was no such
thing as multi-blade packs like
those you find here in the
States; if there had been, we
couldn't have afforded them."
In India, Mom & Pop stores
are still the dominant retailers.
Unfortunately, each store may only stock one
of each item, investing no more than US$5 to
US$25 in total inventory. So, finding a local
distribution service that does quick restocks
would give a company an edge.
"While you need people with many skills on
your innovation team, the most important skill
may be dealing with diversity," said Ram. "You
need people who are immersed in local cul­tures,
people who can detect market shifts early
on, people who realize that a product will have
to be marketed entirely differently in each coun­try
- even if the customer profile itself is exact­ly
the same in two countries. That means a very
55/1/2002
different mix of package look, size, language,
point-of-purchase, advertising, distribution
methods and strategy for everywhere you sell."
It also means companies that want to get
ahead - or stay ahead - of market shifts and
competitors need numerous partners.
Santiago Hinojosa '73, the Miami, Florida­based
president and CEO of Latin America for
Burson-Marsteller, is one such partner. His firm
specializes in building corporate brand and
reputation.
"We work with the belief that reputation is
ultimately based upon behavior, that reputation
is vital to business success and that targeted and
compelling communication plays a crucial role
in influencing perception and reputation,"
Hinojosa said. "My job involves adding strategic
senior level value way up the food chain."
According to Hinojosa, Burson-Marsteller
begins each strategy session by bringing togeth­er
senior managers such as the CEO, COO, vice
president of marketing and the communica-tions
vice president. "Our methodology walks
those dients through an industry or regional
assessment, a competitor analysis and a key
audience overview. By the end of the day,
dients can usually articulate their goals and
barriers."
Hinojosa did admit that it was fairly com­mon
for senior managers from the same com­pany
to enter a session with completely differ­ent
perceptions and goals. When that occurs, he
uses his team's neutrality and third party analy­sis
to challenge assumptions and look at things
objectively. If dients still can't agree on goals
and achieve executive buy-in, it's almost impos-
SS / I / 2002 WWW.THUND ERBIRD . EDU p .S
p .6
sible for Hinojosa and his team to construct an
effective action plan.
[f they can agree, Hinojosa's team goes right
to work.
"Let's look at Argentina," he said. "[ts curren­cy
is in such flux right now that some compa­nies
are pulling out. We recommend against
that because Latin Americans tend to be very
brand loyal. Once you lose them, it's very diffi­cult
and expensive to win them back."
So assume you're a consumer products com­pany
with highly established brands. Argentina
has long been a large and profitable market.
Unfortunately, lost sales and write-downs may
now force you to report quarterly earnings that
are two cents below what analysts expect.
"Well, we'd say, 'Don't leave the market:"
Hinojosa said. "Then we'd help them adjust
their costs so they could sell products at a price
consumers could still afford.
"Rather than dosing a plant, which would
raise a whole new set of issues, we'd prefer to see
the company lower costs by, say, switching from
its Miami-based toothpaste cap supplier to one
located in Argentina or Venezuela. Doing so
would reduce both manufacturing and trans­portation
costs," Hinojosa said. "We might also
recommend reducing the product size from
eight ounces to four to make it affordable. As for
media, we'd cut it too. Probably use more point­of-
purchase displays and trim television ads
from 3D-seconds to lO-second 'billboard' shots
- just to keep the brand out there. Then we'd
look for ways to help the community."
Such moves, he said, would help the compa­ny
minimize its loss, while also protecting mar­ket
share and bolstering the dient's brand
image and corporate profile.
Peter Chudy 'S7 provides competitive
advantage opportunities of another kind. The
Warsaw, Poland-based Chudy is director of
consulting practices at Central European Trust
(CET). Founded shortly after the Berlin Wall
fell, CET specializes in helping companies enter
central and eastern Europe.
More than 25 percent of the world's Fortune
100 companies have hired CET.
'This was a depleted market in 1989. One
with a hunger for all things western," Chudy
said. With millions of new potential customers,
crrs dients were anxious to get in, to find a
good distributor and to start building market
share. CET provided each an edge by introducing
company officials to the right high-level business
and government contacts, as well as by providing
critical first-person business intelligence.
'Things began to change in 1992. That's
when emerging countries began forcing foreign
companies to invest in their countries, impos­ing
import tariffs. Our job shifted more toward
researching manufacturing facilities, labor laws,
WWW.THUNDERBIRD . EDU
wage issues and each region's microeconomic
development programs."
In some cases, Chudy's analysis showed that
the company would benefit by purchasing a
local plant. In others, his team determined that
using a greenfield, or build-from-scratch
approach, would be preferable.
"Reducing production costs is something
that will help any company sustain its advan­tage,
so we're always planning ahead for major
shifts. For instance, Poland is to Germany what
Mexico is to the U.S. - a far cheaper labor pool
just across the river."
Labor costs in Poland are less than one-sev­enth
of what they are in Germany, Chudy said.
Therefore, it's cheaper to shift manufacturing or
service centers there. But labor costs in the
Ukraine are only about one-fourth of those in
Poland, so should a company switch its manu­facturing
to there? Probably not if you factor in
the political risks of Ukraine's instability,
Chudy said.
Chudy and his team routinely do that type of
analysis and legwork for multinationals. They
also advise dients when they should begin
building educational programs and infrastruc­ture
in preparation for their next country move.
According to Chudy, shoe manufacturing has
already begun shifting out of Spain and
Portugal, but with Poland already too expen­sive,
producers are looking even further east.
Auto assembly has shifted from Germany to
Poland, The Czech Republic, and Hungary. Tex­tile
production has begun moving into Georgia
and Kazakhstan.
Then there's the European Union (EU) fac­tor.
"Poland, The Czech Republic, Hungary,
Slovenia, Estonia and Latvia are all poised to
enter the EU," he said. "Once they do, a huge
amount of money will be transferred from
Brussels to these countries and many of the tar­iffs
protecting them will be removed. That's
going to cause Europe to become even more
competitive. "
Who does Chudy see as the "dark horse"
gems for multinationals?
Croatia, because of its beautiful coasts and
location. Bulgaria, which has excellent poten­tial
under its new government. And Russia,
which, given its size and natural resources,
could well "blossom" within 10 years.
Bob Lees '77 is a true Asia-Pacific veteran.
The former secretary general and president of
the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC),
Lees was recently appointed executive advisor
Asia Pacific at KPMG Consulting, [nc., which is
one of the world's largest business and consult­ing
technology integration firms.
"[ began doing business in China over 20
years ago at a time when nearly all of Asia's
55 / 1/2002
domestic markets were relatively dosed," said
Lees. "Things have changed dramatically since
then. Asia is now a healthy market and a major
base of operations for many of the ' world's
multinational corporations."
Lees, who headed the prestigious PBEC for
10 years, said that the region is bouncing back
from its recent crisis and that multinationals
must be players in Asia to remain competitive.
"One third of the world's population lives in
Asia, and although Japan's phenomenal growth
ended in recession 11 years ago, the rest of Asia
is growing and China's market has been like an
SOD-pound gorilla on steroids."
Lees cautioned that multinationals must
adopt very different strategies in each country,
rather than simply treating the region as a sin­gle
market entity. Vietnam, for instance, is
extremely young demographically, while
Japan's population is much older. Common­alities,
however, do exist across countries. The
most notable are that:
• The people have a strong work ethic,
• They value education,
• Personal savings rates are high, and
• Good government contacts can be critical.
"Multinationals going to China can actually
have an advantage over local competitors in
that China's consumers have traditionally been
quite parochial in their buying habits. Its peo­ple
have historically bought local products
from local companies so it was difficult for
many Chinese companies to expand nationally.
Multinationals, however, can have a 'national
brand' image, which makes it easier for them to
gain acceptance across the nation. One of the
biggest mistakes 'new-to-the-market' multina­tional
firms make in Asia is assuming that their
products have brand recognition like they do
back in their home market. They don't. To be
successful, multinationals must be in for the
long haul, be good corporate citizens and
invest much, much more in public relations
and marketing than they generally plan to.
"China's entrance into the World Trade
Organization changes that large and growing
market for the berter," Lees said. "In effect,
China will be much more open to foreign
products and Chinese companies will be seek­ing
foreign partnerships and advanced technol­ogy
to make them more competitive."
While Lees' contacts and Asian expertise are
somewhat proprietary, he did offer a few sug­gestions
for multinationals to think about.
China is quickly becoming one of the world's
largest markets. Companies must be part of
that market. But we should not forget Korea,
Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Each offers
huge potential to global corporations, not only
for sales, but also for manufacturing and
regional operations hubs. •
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.THUND ERBIRD .E DU p.7
p.8
What makes two seemingly similar
companies perform so differently?
One outperforms the market. The
other barely meets estimates. While each
appears to have the same asset mix and market
niche, one is dearly doing more.
What's the source of that advantage?
"Most companies can access the same finan­cial,
technological, and strategic capital. What
they can't copy is organizational capability.
That is, intellectual capital. the talent pool, and
how those people work together," sajd Dr.
Warren Wilhelm, a Harvard-educated expert in
leadership development, human resource man­agement
and corporate change who teaches
part-time at Thunderbird. "We're talking about
a culture and the people who are steeped in it.
Which is difficult to replicate."
While most other assets can be acquired -
quickly if need be - culture can only be built
and changed slowly, according to Wilhelm.
When people talk about business-related cul­tural
issues, they tend to mean the regional.
ethnic, and religious nuances Thunderbirds
accommodate. Yet corporate cultures also
indude an often-overlooked component ca1led
"mindset," he said.
"Mindset is more than culture. It is how peo­ple
in each organization behave and think.
How they view the company, its customers,
each other."
Wilhelm beJieves it's much more difficult to
get people to work together and move forward
when they don't share the same mindset. It's
also much more costly in terms of lost produc­tivity
and having to allocate resources to
"change" instead of "charge."
Successful companies, Wilhelm said, begin
by hiring the right people, people with the
appropriate mindset. They then actively nur­ture,
challenge and reward their people.
'The employee 'on-boarding' process is criti­cal.
New hires need to understand exactly what
the company is, what it does, how it makes
money, the impact of environmental change and
competitors. You'd be surprised how many don't.
Your people then need regular 'growth doses:"
Through its 1998 study, "War For Talent,"
McKinsey & Company learned what motivated
and helped retain top talent. Continuous
growth, challenge, an ability to make a dear
impact, respect, excitement, and a winning
company were critical. Compensation wasn't.
Wilhelm stressed that companies must
actively track their best people from the day
they join, providing continuous feedback and
learning opportunities. He also said tlley
should move people to new positions as soon
as tlley've learned 80 percent of what they can
learn in their current job - before they begin
to feel stagnant and get bored.
WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55/1/2002
Attracting and keeping the best and ~W6St
BY UNOSEY MICHAElS
"Retention and succession planning process­es
have to be driven by the CEO," Wilhelm said.
"Someone who says, I'm serious about this.
You'll be rewarded for grooming and sharing
talent, punished for hoarding it. Someone who
ensures that managers who share talent get back
people who are as talented as those they give.
''There also has to be someone, or a team, at
the corporate level who is forrna1ly in dlarge of
such processes, because if left alone for even a
month or two, programs like this will die."
Wilhelm cited GE, Nestle, JP Morgan, Col-
55 / I / 2002
gate-Palmolive, and Unilever as companies he
has personally worked with that handle such
functions well.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) company is anoth­er
multinational that works hard on people
issues. Then chairman and CEO Ralph Larsen
focused specifically on leadership, values, and
hi ring the right people in his April 2002 address
at Thunderbird. (Please see sidebar.) Michael
Carey, vice president, Human Resources for J&J
later discussed some of the human resources
strategies and unique challenges his company
faces.
"Fi rst of all, we try to hire people who fit well
with the Johnson & Johnson company culture,
people who will live by the credo that drives
everything we do," explained Carey. "We also
tend to hire local managers because we believe
they understand their countries, cultures, and
competitive landscapes better than anyone else.
They also tend to have strong local networks to
draw upon."
J&J typically hi res Thunderbirds into its
12-18 month International Development Pro­gram
with the goal of returning them to their
own countries within three years. During that
time th ey, like other hires, are taught about J&J
in classes conducted by senior managers -
including the CEO. They also participate in the
company's ongoing assessment and succession
development process.
"We have a formal Standards of Leadership
process that tracks our people according to the
five areas we most value. That model looks li ke
a pinwheel, with our credo at the center and the
other values radiating out from there."
According to Carey, performances are tracked
at the business unit, regional, and presidential
level. And, how well each person "attracts,
recru its and grows new talent" is a defi nite per­fo
rmance factor. Managers are expected to
groom talent until each person has peaked
within his or her business unit. Those managers
must then be wi lling to give up those people to
other units so that they and J&J can grow.
Carey himself is a byproduct of J&J's succes­sion
planning process. He's worked in seven
di fferent units during his 35 years with J&J.
While J&J defi nitely tries to rotate people
within the same region for as long as possible,
Carey said the company does move people into
its Intern ational Service Category for two rea­sons:
when the company needs their expertise
in a new market, and when they need a two- or
th ree-year international ass ignment to enhance
their growth.
"We often use existing talent to seed a new
organization," Carey said. "However we try to
manage that process very closely since the aver­age
expatriate assignment can cost us $300,000
per year over and above that employee's salary."
WWW.THUND ERBIRD. EDU
JOHNSON & JOHNSON CEO SPEAKS AT THUNDERBIRD
Ralph Larsen, chairman and CEO of
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) came to
Arizona in April solely to address Thunder­bird.
His topic: "Leadership in a Values­Based
Organization."
A US$33 billion company with more than
100,000 employees that sells in 175 coun­tries,
J&J has long been a strong supporter of
Thunderbird. The company has hired more
than 100 Thunderbird students in recent
years and has also used the School's Cor­porate
Consulting arm to perform several in­depth,
country-specific projects. I&J is also a
generous scholarship contributor.
'The most important reason I am here is
because you are very, very important," said
the affable Larsen. "As I already told one of
your people, the single most serious short­age
we have within Johnson & Johnson is
leaders for the future."
According to Larsen, J&J has been grow­ing
its top line business at an average annu­al
rate of 10 percent to 12 percent for 100
years. Bottom line growth has averaged 12
percent to 15 percent. In fact, had you pur­chased
$10,000 of J&J stock in 1989, when
Larsen became CEO, that investment would
have grown in value to $140,000 now.
Although the company is still best known
for its infant care and other consumer prod­uct
lines, )&J's Codman unit is the world's
largest manufacturer of science-based and
neuro-surgical products. Its Ethicon division
provides most of the world's surgical sutures,
and its Ortho unit owns a significant share
of the world's pharmaceutical market.
Larsen quickly attributed
the majority of J&Js success
to its unshakable core values.
"Johnson & Johnson is a company built
around very strong values and a heritage
that is expressed in our credo," Larsen said.
"It's on the back of our annual report and
it's a document that we take very seriously."
That credo expresses the company's
responsibility toward customers, employees,
communities, and shareholders. And,
according to Larsen, that credo is lived and
breathed by employees throughout the
world.
"My job, for instance, is to run a good,
decent, and ethical company as best we can
in a complicated world ... to ensure that the
types of things we see happening elsewhere
- cutting corners, inflating numbers -
doesn't happen here."
Larsen said he focused the bulk of his
efforts on people issues. He also said he and
other senior managers personally discuss
values and responsibility with new employ­ees
during their first year with )&1.
A highly decentralized company that
prefers to place nationals back in their
home countries, J&J relies on its credo of
shared values to foster a sense of common
purpose and camaraderie.
"We attract people to J&J who share the
same values as us," he said. "You can't teach
those values and you can't teach heart. The
heart of our company is all about people
who care deeply about companies and cus­tomers.
"As you complete your graduate school
program at Thunderbird, one of the finest
graduate schools in the world, I hope you
will choose companies and
careers that are consistent
with your core values."
p.9
_p._J °-----------11 vIEWPOiNT 1t-----------55
-
1
-1'2 _0_02
THE SECRETS OF ACHIEVING
REGIONAL BUSINESS SUCCESS
A SWOT analysis
t Thunderbird, students spend as much time studying the impact of culture, religion, family and lan­guage
issues on each country's business practices as they do studying functional business skills them­selves.
They learn informally, from fellow students and professors who come from more than 60
nations, as well as from formal international studies courses. Here, professors who teach four of Thunderbird's
Regional Business Environment courses graciously provide brief, competitive assessments of their regions.
ASIA
BY DRS. KlSHORE DASH AND M.AlmN SOURS
Although events like the 1997 financial cri­sis,
the collapse of the IT bubble and the Sep­tember
11 terrorist attacks have put a brake on
Asia's growth, the region is still an attractive
investment destination.
Despite economic difficulties, Japan's econo­my
is still the second largest in the world. With
a combined population of more than 2 billion,
China and India are emerging as the fastest
growing world economies and are leading the
recovery race with seven percent and five per­cent
annual growth respectively. Singapore,
with its state-of-the-art ports and relative lack of
corruption, continues to attract large sums of
foreign direct investment. With Malaysia and
South Korea on strong economic recovery
tracks, investors' confidence is growing there.
According to Mark Newman, vice president
and CFO for GM Shanghai, "Eight countries
will account for 60 percent of the automotive
industry's growth over the next 10 years and four
of those countries - China, India, Thailand
and South Korea - are in Asia." Asia is a vast
potential market, yet despite its apparent attrac­tiveness,
Asia's political, economic and cultural
challenges make doing business there complex.
For one thing, the rules and business prac­tices
in Asian countries are in constant flux.
Those rules can change in the middle of a trans­action,
throwing an investment strategy into
total disarray. Also, many Asian governments
make last-minute pricing demands that can
wreak havoc on strategies.
Although changing, regulators and share­holders
are often the same entity in Asia, mak­ing
bureaucratic maze and frequent govern­ment
intervention a fact of life. Therefore,
investors must truly understand Asia's policy-making
context, the important players and
their roles in the policy-making process.
Another critical issue that shapes Asia's busi­ness
environment is cultural. The institutions
of a nation (constitutions, laws, property rights,
government) are all shaped by culture. These
institutions help shape the nation's business
culture by legitimizing certain behavioral pat­terns
and then rewarding those who comply
and punishing those who don't.
Over time, of course, cultural values may be
refined by economic development and expo­sure
to other cultures.
Many observers have spoken about the glob­al
(predominantly Western) culture of business
and how it equally applies to Asia. While this is
as erroneous as generalizing Asia as one cul­ture,
executives should remain sensitive to
some common aspects of Asian business cul­ture.
Doing so will help them avoid many
unpleasant experiences.
Some Asian-wide business practices are a
manifestation of the culture: government-busi­ness
relationship, informal decision-making
process, relationship-orientation, family-based
business practices, time flexibility, opaque
communication patterns, ambivalent commu­nications
as reflected in "YesNo" responses,
lack of legal code and the prevalence of oral
contract, tolerance for corruption and patent
infringement.
Most companies realize that to be a major
global player, they need to participate in Asian
markets. But given the political and cultural
complexity of the Asian countries, what do they
need to do?
To start, companies must be sensitive to the
following to succeed in Asia. First, day-trading
dynamics will certainly not work. Companies
need long-term investment strategies. Second,
companies should be sensitive to the PRC
(patient, relationship, cash) principle. Third,
like any rational investment, investors must
diversify. Putting all the eggs in one basket (one
country) isn't a smart strategy.
Thunderbird's Regional Business Environ­ment
- Asia (RBE: Asia) course, like other RBE
courses, is designed to prepare students to nav­igate
through the political. economic and cul­tural
context of regional business activities. The
course continues the tradition begun at the
1946 founding of the institution, when "Asian
Survey" was one of the regional courses offered
to students seeking tlle Bachelor or Master of
Foreign Trade degree. Today RBE: Asia tightly
focuses on the factual and conceptual elements
needed for sophisticated analysis of the chang­ing
and evolving Asia-Pacific region.
55 / 1/ 2 0 02
Because of Asia's tremendous diversity and
size, the course focuses on Northeast. East.
Southeast and South Asia as regional subsets
that are tied together using the concepts and
institutions studied in Thunderbird's Inter­national
Political Economy (lPE) course.
Students must understand the basic ele­ments
of Eastern thought. religions and cus­toms,
and how they create tensions given the
ongoing globalization process. Key national
economies are discussed using case material,
including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan,
Singapore, Vi etnam, the Malay Southeast Asian
world and India. Studies of important emerg­ing
business trends, such as software, telecom,
and biotech developments, also give students a
more detailed understanding of Asia's business
opportunities and challenges. Students also
prepare briefing papers that di scuss industries
or companies in key countries.
EUROPE
DR. OLUFEMI BABARINDE
The European business envi ronment has
been undergoing acute eco nomic, political,
social and legal changes. Paradoxically, both
WWW.T HU ND ERB I RD .E D U
centrifugal and centri petal fo rces are at work
the re. On the one hand, there is evidence of a
"Europeanization" process, manifested in inter­dependent
national economies, coordinated
na tional policies, and a pan-European business
orientation. On the other hand, we also see evi­dence
of virulent nationalism and separatism,
including active separa ti st movements in
Russia, Spain, and Yugoslavia. Similarly, ultra­nationalist
radi cal right political parties have
fared remarkably/ relati vely well in recent el ec­tio
ns in Austri a, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Italy, the Netherlands, and Romania.
Other developments with fa r-reaching impli­cations
include the advent of the Euro in its
phys ical fo rm and the graying of Europe. On
January 1, 2002, th e European single currency,
the Euro, became a physica l reali ty. On March
1, the Euro became the sale legal tender in 12
of the 15 member countries of the European
Union (EU), collectively known as "Euroland"
or the "Euro-zone." The inception of the Euro
p . 1 1
was one of the most extraordinary, captivating.
and far-reaching watersheds in the evolution of
European integration in that it amounted to a
substantial transfer of sovereign ty.
The Euro is expected to strengthen European
identi ty, bolster European solidari ty, and con­tribute
to the tranquility that has existed in the
EU since World War II. The European Central
Bank, the European Commiss ion and others
also believe that th e Euro will promote eco­nomic
stability and prosperity, strengthen the
Single European Market, and encourage invest­ment
in Euro land, the EU and beyo nd.
Comprised of Austri a, Belgium, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxem­bourg.
the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain,
the Euro-zone already has a combined con­sumer
population of over 300 million and an
aggregate gross national product (GNP) of
almost €6 trillion (US$6.5 trillion), represent­ing
22 percent of world GNP. Euro land also
accounts for about 18 percent of world trade.
Compare that to the U.S., which has 280 mil­lion
people and accounts for 30 percent of
world GNP and 20 percent of world trade.
Another phenomenon is the demographic
p . 12
time bomb in Western Europe. In 2000, 16 per­cent
of Western Europe's population was 65
years of age or older. That share could jump to
25 percent by 2030 and to 30 percent by 2050.
Today, each elderly Western European is sup­ported
by more than four working age people.
That ratio will be two-to-one by 2030 and less
than two-to-one by 2050. Worse, the region's
fertility rate is falling, including in Italy and
Spain where birthrates are roughly 1.2 children
per woman. Both trends will impact labor sup­ply,
social security systems, marketing strategies
and immigration policies.
Whereas the graying of Europeans might sug­gest
a declining European market, it presents
immense opportunities for the pharmaceutical,
healthcare, insurance and equity product and
tourism sectors. For example, despite resistance
to private pension schemes in some EU coun­tries,
pension fund assets should grow by €3
billion between 2000 and 2010. The consumer
products companies can focus less on baby for­mulas
and more on nutritional supplements,
less on diapers and more on Depends, while
the tourism/hotel industry can cultivate the
elderly, who have more free time and dispos­able
income. Another business opportunity,
especially in Germany, is the availability of
small- and medium-sized manufacturing bus i-
WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU
nesses because the children of their retiring
baby boomer owners are not interested in run­ning
the fam ily business; they prefer Informa­tion
Technology and related jobs.
One should also understand the rules of the
game in the context of who and what counts in
Europe before doing business there. The
European Commission, the Council, the Court
of Justice, and the Parliament are all important.
For companies contemplating mergers and/or
acquisitions, or those that may be investigated
for running afoul of the EU's antitrust rules, the
Directorate-General for Competition and the
Court of First Instance, matter. The European
Economic Area, which encompasses the EU
and three of the four European Free Trade
Association countries, basically sets the pace for
business in Europe.
Even and especially in Europe, companies
must research and identify market segments
carefully since significant variations exist
among cultu res, languages, motivations, prod­uct
preferences, economic sizes and per capita
incomes. For example, Nordic and Alpine/Ger­manic
Europeans are known for their low con­text
communication style while Mediterranean
Europe has a high context oral one. While the
British tend to prefer well-rounded generalists
who take initiative and responsibility for sen-
55 / 1 / 2002
ior management positions, the Germans prefer
specialists who persuade others by the merits
of their arguments, while the French empha­size
intellectual cleverness/rigor and prefer
strategic/conceptual thinkers. The evolving
management style in Eastern Europe seems to
suggest a preference for the Germanic and
Nordic models.
LATIN AMERICA
DR. ROY N ELSON
Despite some recent developments in Latin
America, such as the severe financial crisis in
Argentina and political instability in Venezuela,
there are reasons to believe that long-term busi­ness
prospects in the region are highly favor­able.
With some notable exceptions, such as Cuba
and (now) Venezuela, the pursuit of market­oriented
policies (reduction of tariff barriers,
privatization of state-owned enterprises, elimi­nation
of subsidies) has become the new con­sensus
among Latin American governments,
and this trend seems likely to continue.
On a regional level, the Free Trade Area of
the Americas (FTAA) is well on the way to
becoming a reality sometime in the near future,
despite resistance among some countries which
could postpone the planned start date of2005.
55/1/2002
Although this free trade zone will
be phased in only gradually, it will
encompass the entire western hemisphere and
will therefore facilitate trade in the region dra­matically.
While the overall trends are favorable, it is
useful to highlight some specific issues within
individual countries in the region:
Argentina. In the wake of riots in December
2001 that led to the resignation of the president
and a number of interim presidents that fo l­lowed,
social unrest and popular distaste for
politicians and bankers continues. A major
source of contention is the continuation of the
corraJito policy. (This policy, designed to shore
up the country's banking system, restricts with­drawals
from people's bank accounts.) Never­theless,
current president Eduardo Duhalde, a
member of the working-class oriented Peronist
party and by nature a populist, seems to be one
of the few politicians who has enough political
cred ibility with those opposed to the austerity
measures to enact the reforms the IMF is
demanding. Almost certainly, however, Du­halde
is bound to push through some populist
measures that would be detrimental to multi­national
corporations, such as his recent pro­posal
for new taxes of up to 20% on exports.
Duhalde has stated that he will only serve as
WWW.THUNDERBI RD . ED U
president for one year; who
will win, or even run, in the
2003 presidential elections
has yet to be determined. But
most large multinational
companies currently in
Argentina have a long-term
perspective and plan to stay
in for the long haul. A new
agreement with the Inter­national
Monetary Fund for
financial assistance, which
will indicate that the
government has estab­lished
a basis for macro­economic
reforms lead­ing
to eventual recovery,
will help begin the
process of restoring
investor confidence.
Venezuela. Since win­ning
election to the
presidency in 1998 on a
platform of populist and nationalist rhetoric,
Hugo Chavez has taken a number of actions
that have been detrimental to the business
environment of the country. Most sign ificantly,
he managed to push through a new constitu­tion
that centralized power in the presidency
and allowed him to run for re-election (he won
election again in 2000 for a six-year term),
something the previous constitution had not
permitted. Chavez has also installed his politi­cal
cronies in positions of influence in the gov­ernment.
He has done this in the military, to
the consternation of key military officials. He
also fired professional managers at Petr6leos de
Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the state-owned oil
company, and replaced them with his political
allies. Even worse for Venezuela's economy,
however, has been Chavez's expensive, badly
managed social programs. These programs are
popular and boost Chavez's political prospects,
but have done nothing to solve the underlying
economic problems of the 70 percent of the
country's population living in poverty.
Such actions, among others, were what led to
the short-lived and ultimately unsuccessful
"coup" in April 2002. The coup was overturned
within 48 hours because of the tremendous
p . 1 3
outpouring of support Chavez received from
the masses of the people, who like his populist
programs and admire what he has done to
challenge the position of corrupt traditional
politicians. However, it is unlikely that Chavez
will be able to maintain this support for long.
Additionally, the continuing exodus of educat­ed
middle class people to safer, more hos­pitable
countries will only worsen the lo ng­term
economic situation in the country.
Despite the enormous potential of Venezuela,
international managers might want to wait
until there is a change in government before
entering this market.
NORTH AMERICA
PROF. LINDA WITZEL
So, you want to expand your business into
North America. Or make an investment there.
Great. Mexico's now under a president who
wants to make his economy look like that of
the U.S. (He used to work for Coca-Cola, after
all). Canada already acts a lot like the U.S. -
only it's even friendlier to foreigners And the
U.S.? It's the biggest, richest, most risk-free mar­ket
in the world.
Right?
Wrong. And, in some ways, right.
North America beckons the international
business manager like the fabled Promised
Land. Milk and honey in abundance. But for a
price. And only with careful planning.
Canada and the U.S. are among the world's
most successful economies. Passionately capi­talist
in spirit, the two political systems
nonetheless provide insurance for "level play­ing
fields" in their economies (anti-trust legis­lation)
and in their societies (anti-discrimina­tion
regulations).
Their markets are, in principle and generally
in truth, open to all who have the ingenuity
and energy to woo and win their affluent con­sumers.
The North American Free Trade Agree­ment
(NAFTA) has dismantled most of the
trade firewalls between Canada and the U.S.,
adding to their allure.
Mexico continues its painful trek away from
its protectionist past, and the world has
noticed. Most of the long-state-owned "com­manding
heights" of the Mexican economy are
p. 1 4
increasingly up for grabs (the oil company),
and President Fox is shrewdly marketing his
country to the European Union and to South
America, not only as an enormous potential
source of skilled labor and consumption, but
also as a gateway to NAFfA.
But the Promised Land is not without its
bogs and thickets.
To foreign investors, the U.S. can be a
chameleon. The U.S. government trumpets its
free trade gospel, then it imposes tariffs on
imported steel and subsidizes farmers.
American culture celebrates success but the
Justice Department prosecutes Microsoft -
because it's "predatory," or too successful. A
"nation of immigrants," the U.S. seems to tweak
its immigration policies arbitrarily. And its Iiti-
WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU
giousness: for goodness sake, fast-food fran­chisee,
don't sell that coffee hot!
What does a foreign executive make of
Canada? Since September 11, some of Canada's
vaunted openness appears to have been sacri­ficed
to U.S. security concerns. Fierce Canadian
patriotism aside, just how independent of
Washington is Ottawa? Besides, some say,
Canada can't decide whether it's one country or
three (Quebec, The Maverick West, the rest).
And if NAFfA's so terrific, why can't Canadian
lumber companies sell freely in the U.S.?
While foreign investors cheer Mexico's
reform-minded Fox, many are reserving judg­ment.
Old corporatist habits die hard, and Fox
has powerful opponents in the entrenched
political and corporate elite. Mexico, too,
55/1/2002
chafes under NAFfA: Mexican truckers cannot
yet travel beyond the U.S. border.
Other risks abound in North America:
• Risks to personal security that September
11 has exposed. It's unlikely that American soci­ety
will soon resemble ever-vigilant [srael's, but
the "age of innocence" is gone.
• Post-Enron/Andersen risks to traditional
business practices. Facing ever more intrusive
scrutiny, companies must review their standard
operating procedures and "behave."
• Risks posed by the encroachment on
nation-specific laws and regulations of global
norms. Washington's refusal to join the Inter­national
Criminal Court, for example, is prob­ably
only a modern-day Canute's resistance to a
similarly unstoppable tide.
For all the risks, North America presents
seemingly unlimited business opportunities,
among them:
• A gamut of personal-security technologies,
from the highest (airport security portal that
obviates one's having to remove one's shoes) to
the lowest (trained dogs that are proven to be
nearly 100% successful in detecting plastic
explosives and other threats - while also
soothing nervous, pet-loving Americans).
• More imaginative risk-management strate­gies.
The New York Times reported that CSO
(chief security officer) positions are proliferat­ing.
But are these CSOs employing the most
advanced intelligence methodologies and prac­tices?
• Businesses targeting aging North Ameri­cans.
Before September, many Boomers could
be seduced by any product or service offering
endless youth. Now, savvy businesses augment
such offerings with those, SUd1 as early estate­planning
software, which is more reflective of
our ineluctable mortality.
Opportunities and risks can be either real or
imaginary. [n the "Regional Business Environ­ment
- North America" course, we deal with
reality (to the extent we can know it), percep­tion,
and perception-as-reality. Operating or
investing in North America is not. as they say,
for the faint-hearted. But for those who accept
North Americans' ethos of change, focus on the
future, and questioning authority, milk and
honey do await. _
Looking for Business Leaders
with Global Experience?
International
Executive Search
• • • • •
•
•
www.oakbridge-global.com
info@oakbridge-global.com
U.S.A.
Denver: 1.303.670.0788
JAPAN
Tokyo: 81.3.5472.7079
Osaka: 81.6.6441.2581
EUROPE
London: 44.20.7877.0428
p. I G WWW.THUNDERBIRD . EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
PROFESSIONAL
CONSULTING
Thunderbird offers "big league" consulting program.
BY STEPHEN FRAIL '02
The trimester had ended, but work continued frantically in Thunderbird's World
Business conference rooms. That's where consulting teams from the Thunderbird
Corporate Consulting Program (TCCP) were preparing for client visits. • The two
weeks after each trimester ends are always hectic for students, faculty and TCCP staff, as a
trimester's worth of research and analysis gets distilled into targeted client presentations.
For more than seven years, TCCP has quietly operated as a profes­sional
consulting firm under the direction of Dr. Mudhal Krishna­Kumar,
a professor of World Business, providing high quaJity services,
and delivering 103 projects to clients while steadily growing in size and
revenues. Specially chosen project teams, each with six to 10 Thunder­bird
students, officially called associates, serve as front-line consultants,
conducting the research and preparing key deliverables.
Each trimester, the TCCP, which has its own budget, accepts three to
eight consulting cases from clients who pay just a fraction of the amount
they would pay to competing consulting companies for those projects.
Although the types of clients and consulting projects vary each trimester,
TCCP has completed business development strategy, market entry strat­egy,
product development, business process mapping, acquisition and
joint venture valuations, and tactical plan analysis for Fortune 500 com­panies
such as Citibank, IBM, johnson &. johnson, Bayer, AlG, General
Motors, GE Capital, and EDS, as well as for smaller firms.
It has also helped governments develop strategies to attract overseas
investment. A year ago, TCCP consulted for the International Private
Capital Task Force, advising the prime minister of Ukraine and develop­ing
a sensitivity model. TCCP has also recently consulted for the govern­ment
of Poland, developing a benchmarking model of best practices on
border management to prepare Poland for its European Union entrance.
While clients can obtain much of what TCCP offers through tradition­al
consulting firms, many ofTCCP's clients keep coming back because of
the program's uniqueness. Most obviously, the price forTCCP's services is
far below what is charged by competing consulting companies, and yet
clients consistently rate the quality of the work quite high.
Richard Puricelli, chairman of JAC Products, Inc., was so pleased with
the results of his first project that he hired TCCP for a second one. "Dr.
Kumar, his assistants, and students were outstanding," Puricelli said.
"Results were very helpful for our company's extension into South
America. Another project followed about two years later. This time our
focus was in Asia and again we were very satisfied and pleased."
Of the more than 80 companies served by TCCP over the past five
years, more than a third have been repeat customers, while almost half
of all projects have been for repeat clients.
Another significant difference between TCCP and traditional consult­ing
firms is that all TCCP projects must begin and end in four-month
cycles coinciding with Thunderbird's trimester system. While this con­straint
limits TCCP's ability to take on longer or larger scope projects,
Kumar insists it is also a selling factor.
"Managers at client companies like the fact that they can have the
answers to their most pressing business problems in just four months."
Perhaps the most valuable characteristic ofTCCP, at least in the eyes
of past and current clients, is the global network attached to the project.
Having completed consulting projects in over 45 countries, TCCP boasts
international experience few small consulting companies can match.
Thunderbird's alumni network, over 33,000 strong and distributed glob­ally,
gives clients access to insight and key contacts that would take years
to develop otherwise. Finally, associates are recruited from ThunderbiTd's
diverse student body and specifically matched to projects for which they
have relevant country, market and/or industry expertise.
Luke Ford '96 (EMIM), director, Strategic Sales at EDS Corporation's
Solutions Consulting, who has used TCCP's services several times said,
"( have worked with the Thunderbird Corporate Consulting Program on
previous occasions while with another technology company and now
with EDS. The professional level of work and the analytical depth of
decision and risk analysis is what made me recommend them to my
company again. I was happy to see the students at my alma mater get­ting
the opportunity to learn real-life corporate consulting as a part of
their course work."
Shawn McCarthy '99, a manager at PWC Consulting's Strategic Change
Solutions in Moscow, who himself was a consulting program associate,
summed up Thunderbird's competitive advantage in professional servic­es:
"Although other business schools might offer client consulting servic­es,
Thunderbird is able to consistently provide teams that can manage a
vast array of issues arising in a vaTiety of industries on a global basis. To
my knowledge, no other school is in a position to consistently field teams
to meet the needs of global corporations. For these reasons, TCCP is
unique and continues to differentiate Thunderbird from the ranks of
other elite business schools."
TCCP staff members bid each project, chart out the scope of work,
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU p. I 7
p. 1 8 WWW.THUNDERBIRD .E DU 55/1/2002
Where can you quickly learn
everythlna you need to
know about a country's
culture, demographics. consumption
patterns, potential competitors or
partners, import/export laws and
other data? 'The quickest. most c0mpre­hensive
and least expensive option is
probably thunderbird's Business
Information Services (BIS) center.
Thunderbird has quietly amassed one
of the most compreheIlSive full-text
global business databases In the world
today. Available free to faculty and
students, that Incredibly valuable
resource can also be accessed by
alllTV'll and the public for a small fee.
Simply tell a BlS research expert what
you need and sIhe can rapidly pull up
all available data and send it to you via
email or other mail
Cost is just $75 per hour for al\.IMl
and $85 per hour for non-alumnl.
Recent projects have ranged from
S300 for simple country, company or
business research to up to $3,000 for
the most complex and comprehensive
intelligence.
Recent projects have involved:
• Business and competitive intelli­gence
on companies and industries
• Census and multi-level demographic
data
• Advertisina and marketing strategy
research for product launches
• DistrIbution chamel and c0nsump­tion
pattern analysis
"There is no 'typical' project,· said
Patricia Watkins, BIS researcher who
will design and conduct custom, In­depth
searches for any client. "The BIS
mission statement is 'If it's out there,
we'll find itl'"
Thunderbird's Business Information
Services unit quickly provides
comprehensive market and c0m­petitive
data so companies can
plan successful product launch,
partnership and other strategies.
Watkins brings nearly 20 years of
primary market research to 1hunder­bird.
She can be reached by telephone
at (602) 978-7236 or by email at
watldaw;Att bird ecIu
articulate principal deliverables to clients and develop the appropriate
analytical model to be used with each project. That model maps and
quantifies the project's principle drivers. TCCP also uses a sophisticated
decision and risk analysis tool to run sensitivity analysis, create risk pro·
files on potential strategies and examine the probability of enhancing or
destroying shareholder value with each recommended strategy.
Student associates do most of the heavy project work, spending long
hours in Thunderbird's International Business Information Center
(IBiC) performing secondary research on the library's many databases.
Those associates later develop a primary research plan with the TCCP
project managers, then fan out into the field to meet with clients, cus­tomers,
competitors and employees.
Students who participate in the consulting program as associates do
so for a variety of reasons, but most are seeking practical consulting
experience to help them break into the field once they graduate. The pro­gram
is also a way for students to bring together and apply all the vari­ous
skills they've learned at Thunderbird. Said McCarthy, "Though each
project is unique, students are called on to leverage their collective glob­al
and academic experiences to analyze an issue and recommend a series
of options designed to depict the effect of management decisions to be
made in the near future."
Marketing, benchmarking, competitive intelligence and analysis,
finance, operations, supply chain management, acquisition strategies
and valuation - all are required to deliver a comprehensive report that
addresses the needs of each TCCP client.
Many Thunderbird graduates have found that their participation in
the consulting program has helped them later on in their careers.
Mehmet Munzur '00, a former TCCP associate and now an associate
with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, thinks his time in the program
helped him land his job. "During my interviews, I received more ques­tions
about my experience with corporate consulting than about all of
my other professional experiences. In addition to multiple job offers, my
experience helped me develop a new and a better way of dealing with
complex business problems," explained Munzur.
McCarthy believes that what he learned in the program has made him
a much more effective manager. 'The task we faced as part of the TCCP
was so specific, so far outside my comfort zone, I wasn't quite sure where
to start. TCCP helped structure an evaluation process to break down
'overwhelming' problems into manageable work streams possessing
clearly defined mileposts. To this day, our project serves as a personal
benchmark for what is possible and for what can be achieved."
Kumar gives his student associates much of the credit for the success
of the program. "Students who join the corporate consulting project
can't be, and aren't, concerned with grades. They can't, and don't, settle
for a B or a B+. Client satisfaction is everything."
Because student associates move on after each trimester, brain drain is
a fact of life for Kumar and his assistants. However, Kumar likes to think
that when his students graduate, he isn't so much losing an associate as
he is gaining another alumni champion for the consulting program.
"We don't do much marketing," said Kumar. "We rely heavily on our
alumni base, many of whom are in a position to influence senior man­agement,
to bring their consulting business to us."
Kumar is continually working to grow the consulting program. He can
be reached at (602) 978-7193 or at kumark@t-bird.edu. •
p.19 WWW.T HUNDERBIRD .E DU 55/1/2002
M&AS FROM TEN PERSPECTIVES
Unique Mergers & Acquisitions course examines
M&As with 10 faculty experts
You're with a German
company whose
expansion into Latin
America necessitates finding
a local partner with strong
manufacturing and distribu­tion
ties. You locate a fami­ly-
owned Chilean entity
that seems to suit your
needs. After your finance
folks finish perusing its
financial facts, they recom­mend
initiating acquisition
talks.
But will this acquisition
ultimately succeed or fail?
That is, can you truly bring
it to fruition and, if so, will
it really help you achieve
your financial goals and
strategy?
"Nearly 80 percent of all
mergers fail to add shareholder value,
oftentimes because the accounting and
finance people leading them fail to recog­nize
the complexity of integration issues,"
said Dr. Phil Drake, assistant professor of
accounting at Thunderbird. "Our course
teaches managers the strategic, integration,
negotiation, financial, legal, tax and cultur­al
skills they need to analyze then imple­ment
a deal successfully."
Called Mergers & Acquisitions: A Multi­Discip
linary Approach, Drake's unique
three-week, fu ll-time program teaches man­agers
how to analyze a potential merger or
acquisition from ten critical angles. The
course objective: Show students how to
think about mergers & acquisitions and
analysis completely, moving critical post­merger
issues up front in the discussion
process to ultimately ensure that millions of
dollars and thousands of people's liveli ­hoods
aren't needlessly threatened.
To achieve that goal, Drake leveraged the
unique integrated nature of Thunderbird -
which combines global business, culture
and language within each course - to
assemble an all-star lineup of professors
who each teach their subject of expertise.
BY LINDSEY MICHAELS
In Thunderbird's M&A course, student teams
must ultimately assume the roles of real-life
M&A participants, then attempt to negotiate
the deal in character. They must also write
up and defend their M&A positions before a
faculty "Board" panel.
• Dr. Kannan Ramaswamy: strategy
• Dr. Caren Siehl: cross-cultural and
merger integration issues
• Dr. John O'Connell: risk management
• Prof. Bob Tancer: statutory framework
• Dr. Rich Ettenson: brand management
• Dr. Dale Davidson: tax
• Prof. Paul Kinsinger: business
intelligence
• Dr. Phil Drake: accounting
• Dr. Mark Griffiths: corporate valuation
• Dr. Karen Walch: negotiation.
These topics are taught during the first
two weeks through an integrated set of lec­tures,
case studies and exercises. Geared to
students of all specializations, Drake's pro­gram
ends with students assuming the roles
of those involved in the real GlaxoWell­come/
SmithKlein Beecham mega-merger.
Students break into teams of four or five and
spend a full and grueling
week trying to negotiate the
deal in character. Each
team's "fi nal exam" involves
defending its comprehensive
written merger analysis,
actions and strategy to a pro­fessor
panel - which ques­tions
everything a company's
Board of Directors would.
"Our students admit to
fee ling absolutely over­whelmed
throughout this
course," Drake said. "Besides
the coursework, they have to
learn everything they can
about the pharmaceutical
industry, then bring all the
major elements of business
together to form a compre­hensive
merger plan. We're
talking about projected post­merger
numbers, the structure of the new
management team and Board, which brands
and people to retain, where to locate plants
and offices, how to integrate technologies
and how to get people in both companies to
get along."
Mergers and acqu isitions have become an
increasingly significant part of the global
economy as companies have turned to
them to address market entry and economy­of-
scale issues. I n fact, statistics show that
M&A activity rose from US$250 billion in
1990 to US$3.5 trillion during 2000. As a
result, many managers are now tasked with
directing MMs.
"The MM interim was one of the best
academic experiences I had at Thunder­bird,"
explained Christopher Thiele '02,
who works for ING Americas. "The combi­nation
of multiple faculty teaching to their
strength while blending their expertise with
a group of highly motivated, insightful stu­dents
resulted in the best that Thunderbird
had to offer. Phil Drake did an exemplary
job of not only providing a challenging
environment but of also ensuring that we
had all the possible support to push our­selves
as far as we could go." •
p. 2 0 WWW.THUNDERBIRD .E DU 55/1/2002
AN AMERICAN IN CUBA
Looking inside a "restricted" land
BY BRlTA MOELLER '02
The flight from Miami to Havana was short and from above Cuba
appears green, lush and devoid of freeways, a land edged by
white sand beaches. Exiting the airplane you felt the air, heavy
with humidity, laced with diesel and a hint of tobacco. Visions of
cigars and men dad in guayabera shirts came to mind. Then you real ­ized
that you were surrounded by men wearing guayaberas, toting
cigars and large suitcases, as well as by women pushing overstuffed
duffel bags full of U.S. purchases. Toilet paper, bouquets of plastic
flowers, and pink hair-curlers seemed their most popular items.
We all waited together in the cigar-smoke haze to pass through
immigration. I asked to get my passport stamped, as I was an American
student on a "cultural visit" to a country the U.S. restricts visits to.
Once in Cuba, I realized rather quickly that I was not an American,
but someone from "the North," the United States. From an American
perspective, there is a generation-long economic and political "embar­go"
between the U.S. and Cuba. Fidel Castro and the Cuban people
term it a "blockade." We were fortunate to be in Cuba during the same
time as former President Carter and his entourage and we planned to
watch the week's events unfold with anticipation. No current or former
U.S. president had visited Cuba since 1959 and so we wondered if the
Carter/Castro meetings would influence policies in either direction,
either tightening or loosening economic restrictions.
With its colonial history as a crossroads for Spanish galleons and
trade ships, it seemed strange to think that Cuba is today relatively iso­lated
and growing more so as its major trading partners, the former
Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, address their own issues. Yet,
I believe even a Cuba without Castro would seem wary of outside
political influences due to its history of Spanish colonial domination,
British takeovers and U.S. military interventions.
Cuba and its people retain a proud and independent spirit.
Leaving the airport, we passed through hordes of people waiting for
returning family members; leaving the island is a definite "event."
Walking into the airport's parking lot, full of 1950s cars, acted like a
time machine, shooting me back to the pre-Castro era when the U.S.
played an influential role in Cuba's economy and political develop­ment.
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERB1RD.EDU p.21
Today, Castro detests and claims to fight "U .S. cultural imperialism,"
therefore, Havana was visibly vacant of modem U.S. super brands,
such as McDonalds and Hollywood movies. That gave me an eerie, yet
somewhat pleasant feeling of stepping back in time.
We passed many billboards on our way into Havana, mostly cele­brating
the Revolution and the accomplishments of Che Guevara and
Fidel. Several depicted an "anti-imperialist" sentiment, such as the one
reading "Yankee Imperialist Go Home." None of those billboards
advertised specific products or brands.
Along the streets we saw people of all ages standing in groups, either
waiting for buses or friends. Others rode bicycles, which sometimes
carried a whole family, rickshaws, or motorcycles with sidecars.
Alternatively, lada taxis, which resemble little yellow bubbles, could
take you to your hotel if you didn't have too much luggage. You could
also tour the city in a romantic horse and buggy.
Although Cuba was somewhat what I expected, it was also not what
I expected. The 16th and 17th century colonial architecture of Havana
was astonishing, pervasive, and every view offered an eyeful of visual
stimuli. My most unexpected discovery in
Havana was the sound, a constant hum of
people speaking island Spanish mixed with
the rattle of old car engines and a bit of
"son" jazz from the comer cafe. Walking
down the cobblestone streets, I felt like a
bass note in a song from Buena Vista Social
Club.
We stayed at Hotel Telegrafico, a beauti­ful
work of restoration situated on Central
Park Square, next to the Capitolio
Nacional, which is topped by a dome just
like the U.S. Capitol building in Washing-ton,
D.C. Much of Havana is dilapidated. However, there is an intense
restoration effort that sped up once Havana was declared a protected
World Heritage site. Today you find gorgeous restored colonial mas­terpieces
next to decrepit, ramshackle structures housing multiple
families. The dichotomy was so overwhelming it left me speechless
for two days.
By the third day my awe and fascination with Havana began to fade
amid the sight of so much poverty and so few hygienic necessities,
such as soap and toilet paper. The colonial mansions seemed like
ghosts of past glory, their crumbling wrought-iron balconies a symbol
of the failed ideology behind the former iron curtain. Get invited to a
Cuban dinner party and you bring a bottle of cooking oil, for it is more
valued than wine. By trip's end, my feelings had become more bal­anced
and I could again see beauty in the surroundings and hear joy
in the daily hum of Cuban life.
The diversity of Cuba's population, the Afro-Cuban Santeria rituals,
the music of son, the dance style of salsa, rumba, and mambo all run
deeper in Cuban history than its current political leadership.
Even though Cuba is an island with limit­ed
resources, certain types of food are plenti ­ful.
For example, the government makes sure
that everyone has enough ham, cheese,
bread, coffee, red snapper and sugar. State­run
restaurants often included menus offer­ing
limited sandwich choices. Would you
like ham and cheese, or cheese and ham?
Pizza might be listed on the menu, but they
happened to be "out of it that day."
We found that the best places to eat are
called "paladars," private restaurants run out
of people's homes that not only offer more
p. 2 2 WWW.THUNDERBJRD . EDU 55 / 1/2002
selection and better quality, but also a touch of elegance and flair.
From appetizers and wine to desert and coffee, a full gourmet meal
could cost US$2S. A bargain, unless you're a Cuban with an average
monthly salary of US$lS.
I found these paladars to be successful examples of free market
dynamics operating in a controlled economy. When Castro was forced
to make economically-related internal policy changes in 1994, he
instituted the "spedal period," which allows certain businesses, such
as paladars, to be "self sufficient" for a "limited time." Such business­es
could not even exist in Cuba prior to seven years ago.
Paladars send their staffs out to scour the city's markets for the fresh­est
available ingredients each day, and then adjust their menus accord­ingly.
We ate in several and they were all outstanding.
While in the Old Quarter, quench your thirst with a mojito at the
quaint bar on the roof of the Ambose Mundos, the hotel where Ernest
Hemmingway stayed in the 1930s while writing "For Whom the Bell
Tolls." Hemmingway later moved to a beautiful house, Finca la Vigia,
in San Francisco de Paula, that is now the Hemmingway Museum.
Some other important notes:
With all due respect to American Express' "Don't leave home with­out"
and Visa's "It's everywhere you want it to be" campaigns; you have
to bring cold hard cash to Cuba. Credit cards from U.S. banks are sim­ply
not accepted, anywhere.
The Hotel Nacional will change traveler's cheques for you, if need­ed.
You must also bring soap, shampoo, and drugstore items. In talk­ing
with hotel staff, we learned that most Cuban people need vitamins
and nutritional supplements, espedally for children, as well as over­the-
counter painkillers such as Advil or Tylenol. They also need shoes
and dothing. I'd suggest you plan on leaving what you don't use for
the housekeepers. We had barely checked out of our rooms when two
women from housekeeping descended upon them to gather up the
precious items we had left for them. _
Organized by D,: Cannen Vega-Carney, who regularly takes Thunderbird
students to Cuba for language and culture training, the weeklong program
Moeller attended was the first in a series of short, in-country cultural pro­grams
Thunderbird is developing for alumni, students and others.
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.THUNO ERBIRO .EOU
Customers Inspect peppers and other produce from • vendor. (photo by Michael Norton)
MUSEUMS NOT TO BE MISSED
MUSEO DE LA REVOlUCt6N
excellent
MUSEO DE SAN SALVADOR DE LA PUNTA
see Spanish ships and bullion
MUSEO NAClONAL PALACIO DE BEl.1AS ARTES
Cuba's fine art collection
NIGHTCLUBS
LA ZORRA Y EL CUERVO
excellent Cuban Jazz dub
Calle 23, between N and 0
vedado
Tel: 662402
PLACES FOR DRINKS
HOTEL AM80SE MUNDOS
(where Hen1minpay stayed in the 19305)
Obispo No. 153. at comer of Mefaderes
Tel: 60-9529
LA BODEGUITA DEL MmlO
(Hemminpay's favorite mojltos)
La Habana Vleja
EL fLORJDITA
(Hemmlnpay's favorite daiquiris)
Obispo No 557 at Ave Beligica
LA CASA DE CAFE
(nice place for coffee next to Hotel Santa Isabel)
On East side of Plaza de Annas
CULTURAL THINGS TO DO
LAMAQUETA
detailed model of Havana City
La Hahana Viej.
FlNCA LA VlGIA
See Hemmlngway's residence & fishing boat
San Francisco de Paula
RESTAURANTS (PALADARS)
LAGUARIDA
(Where Fresa y Chocotate (Strawberries and
CbocoIate) was filmed)
Concordia 418, between Gervasio and Escobar
Centro Habana
Tel: (53 7) 62 .... 940
VISTAMAR
(beautiful view. right on the ocean. excellent
seafood)
Avenida1~. between22anc124
No. 2206 - Miramar
Tel: 23-8328
LE CHANSONNIER
(French influenced)
Calle J. No. 257. between 15 and Unea
Veradado
Tel: 12-1576
EL HURON AZUL
(elegant dining. friendly waiters give you roses
and cigars)
Hwnboldt No 153. between Calle 0 and P
Malecon
Tel: 79-1691
LA ESPERANZA
Calle 16.105
between 1 and 3
Miramar
Tel: (53 7) 22 .... 361
LA COCINA DE UWAN
Calle 48. 1311
between 13 and 15
Miramar
Tel: 29-6514
p. 2 3
p. 2 4 WWW.TI-IUND ERBIRD . EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
ast Chrisunas Eve, I received a call from my friend Luby
Ismail. an Egyptian-American, who asked if I would go
with her to my homeland - a land I'd left in 1978 at
the age of eight. A land I hadn't returned to since.
For as long as I can remember, I was the last person on the planet who
wanted to go back to Iran. I guess my problem was that Iran had been
such a closed door for me for so long that I couldn't possibly consider
the notion of unlocking it.
For the past 25 years, I've found it difficult to declare my place of birth
or answer the simple question, "Where are you from?" That's because I
grew up in an America where Iran was the "evil enemy." We adapt to our
environment for survival and so I came to subconsciously view myself as
an offspring of that evil enemy. Eventually, I put my heritage behind me
in order to move forward. Unfortunately, for me, the impact was one of
negative prejudice against my own people, culture, and country. Of
spending 25 years of growing up without looking back - then sudden­ly
having the gateway to my past offered to me by someone outside my
immediate family.
March 22 was the longest night of my entire life. The flight from
London to Tehran was five and a half hours, and without exaggeration,
I wept uncontrollably for the duration of that flight. I really can't say it
was anyone particular thought or emotion that brought on the tears.
Something about flying through that mesmerizing starry night and hav­ing
nature sounds gently making their way into my senses through the
airline headphones made me feel truly at one with the universe.
Profound thoughts of God's will and life's travels and the goodness of
people swelled inside me. Thoughts of my childhood journey out of I ran
mixed with the harsh reality that a revolution stole my childhood and
the opportunity to grow up with my extended family and my people. At
the same time I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude toward my
parents for sacrificing the world they had built for themselves in Iran to
bring me to higher ground in America. I let all those feelings sweep me
away, and for the first time in my life I allowed myself to grieve my loss
of country, my self-denial of origin, and my C1uel bias against my own
people. It was the most cleansing and peaceful state of mind, body and
soul I have ever experienced.
Arrival in Tehran was breathtakingly beautiful. By that time the tears
had subsided, my head was rushing at the thought of being in the arms
of my uncles, aunts and cousins. The Alborz Mountains were proudly
guarding the city from one side and what seemed like an endless mass
of buildings and freeway systems carpeted the other. Flying across the
width of the metropolitan area reminded me of tlle flight pattern into
Mexico City. Witl1 a 15 million daytime population and a nine million
evening one, Tehran seemed more spread out than I remembered.
I had really worried about how the Iranian passport control and cus­toms
officers would treat and react to me, but because I was returning
after such a long absence, I feel they made a point of being nice.
My family reunion at the airport was quite emotional. At the first sight
of my uncle's face, I shed many, many more tears of joy. During those
initial embraces with my cousins, aunts, and uncles, I forgot everything
about my past and simply experienced a deep healing. People around
our little group were even touched by our emotions. Apparently, out­ward
display of emotions - hugging. kissing. smiling. dancing in pub­lic
- is not within the conduct rules of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
TOP ROW The writer's friend, Luby. finds Harry Potter books written in Farsi.
Samira at an Internet cafe. Rows of global brands. Time alone with family.
RIGHT The Zagros mountains south and west of Tehran. Iran.
HOME
A hesitant journey oao~~
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU p. 2 5
·0 IRAN
Seeing me express myself openly, made the onlookers feel good that
someone could express themselves in a way they only wished they could.
Happily, that ability of self-expression was perhaps the single most
visible point of distinction between me and the people I encountered
throughout my trip.
Although, in some ways, I looked like the conservative.
Young women I saw had make-up on, had their hair showing from
under their headdresses, wore bright-red nail polish and open-toed
shoes and open necked shirts. Guys wore hair gel. Guys and gals wore
tight-fitting clothes. There was even techno music blasting from a
rollerblade rink in a city park.
I kept thinking, "Hello, is this Jran?"
Don't get me wrong. Life in Iran is definitely still under Islamic occu­pation.
That was evident from the mosques that now line nearly every
other street and ladies in their headdress or full "chador." But outside of
those external symbols, there are five- and six-story indoor shopping
malls with everything from Nike to Macy's to cheeseburgers to country
fried chicken to Farsi-translated Harry Potter books to the latest Holly­wood
movies on DVD and Kellogg's Corn Flakes.
All those things indicated that, to the general public, there was not a
heck of a lot of anything pro-Islamic Republic and anti-American going
on. In fact, 1 perceived the opposite.
Just as in many other parts of the world, the largest segment of the
consumer market in Iran is the youth and with 65 percent being 25 years
and younger, anything hip-hop and American is definitely in.
The only problem is the roughly 20 percent unemployment and the
great disparity between highly inflated prices and people's relatively low
income-earning potential. The gap between the upper and the lower
class has widened with the flight of nearly the entire middle class. For us,
going to Iran is a fantastic shopping opportunity with US$l roughly
equal to 800 tomans. Unfortunately, the U.S. embargo on Iranian prod­ucts
means we can't bring back anything. But for the folks living there
who earn on average $1l2-$150/month (90,000 - 120,000 tomans), a
$10 DVD is a luxury item. Yet, almost every young boy wore Nikes, while
young ladies wore Lee Jeans. Both genders seemed to have just about
every European designer's accessory imaginable.
When the day came for Luby and me to be taken to my childhood
home in Amiraabad, I was both nervous and excited. Our house was still
green on the outside, but the years had not been kind to it. I was disap­pointed
to find it in that state, but also relieved that our building was
still there, since because of renovation projects, many of the older build­ings
in that neighborhood had been demolished. We rang, and a woman
- although initially quite hesitant - let me in to see the interior of her
place and the backyard courtyard. Amazingly, I felt as if I had always
been there, and although the furniture and interior features were foreign
to me, the physical structure was definitely "home."
Obviously, there are plenty of wonderful memories to share with you
when we have the chance to speak. In the meantime, know that I found
no evil in Iran, only family, a sense of healing, and the rediscovery of a
heritage I'd denied myself for a quarter century.
~ This trip was the best thing I have ever done for myself. Taking that
~ leap into the unknown and facing my fears head-on was difficult, but it
CII B was worth everything. I only wish each of you would take the opportu-
.~.u. nity to go back to something or someplace in your past that you've shut
UJ out of your life. You may find much peace and healing there.
~ Would I ever consider living in Iran again? Sorry. No. Home is right
~ here in the U.S. But you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be going back to
~ revisit my family and rediscover the rest of the beauty and riches of my
~ culture, people, and birth country.
@) Anyone want to tag along? •
p . 2 6 WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
55 / 1 / 2002
I finished my studies in France after my five-year
degree in mechanical engineering and some good
personal experiences in South America and in
Switzerland with a strong desire to move my profes-sional
life toward international business. For that, I
needed a degree that would validate and support my
choice. That is why I applied to a specialized masters
degree program in strategy and international business
at ESSEC Business School.
Why did I choose this school? First because it is a
highly rated "grande ecole" located in Cergy, France.
Second, because its slogan, "act­ing
first," fits me. But I also chose
ESSEC because its program
included an exchange program
with the number one business
school in international manage­ment:
Thunderbird.
That is how I and 18 other
ESSEC students found ourselves
last January in one of the more
pleasant and warmest places a
European can hope to spend the
winter: Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
While some schools have dual degree and other
types of exchange agreements with Thunderbird, the
ESSEC(fhunderbird program was developed around
Thunderbird's Certificate of Advanced Studies in Inter­national
Management program. It is a IS-credit pro­gram
during which we took five specific courses: nego­tiation
and communication in a multicultural world,
international political economy, international finance
and trad e, regional business environment: North
America and global strategy.
All brought the international side of economics,
business and management to light in a way that only
Thunderbird can do, taking classes beyond the theo­retical:
with 60 nationalities and a mix of more than
60 percent foreigners in every class. You may think you
can have such multinational experiences everywhere,
but then you start your negotiation workshop exercise
with one Colombian, one Japanese, one American
and one German. That's when you really start to
understand what "international" means, and how this
School can give you this intercultural awareness and
compulsory skills you need to evolve into a real inter­national
manager.
But this is only one side of the multicultural experi­ence.
I soon realized that you also learn a lot about a
culture and its people by spending time with them
around a couple of beers at the Thunderbird Pub. This
is the first place you start to know people as "people."
Thursday night at the pub; I think I made them all ....
Looking back, it's where I learned the most about peo­ple
from other countries and where all those strangers
started to become my friends.
Then comes the clubs, where you can practice in
your favorite hobby with people from all over the
world. I had the chance to participate in many clubs,
such as volleyball, the choir and, of course, the club
des Francophones (French club). Almost every nation-
WWW.THUND ERBIRD .EDU
ality has its own club and each prepares a special night
where everyone is invited to share the food, the drink
and the music of th eir culture. I had the chance to
organize the French night with many of my fellow
countrymen and French lovers: French food, French
wine and music all night were the recipe. I remember
also the Latin night, where students did special salsa
dancing performances.
There is also the Global Sounds concert, a multicul­tural
concert where Thunderbird students perform
vocal and instrumental music and/or dances from
India, the United States,
Russia, Czech Republic and
many others for everybody.
These are strong moments
you do not forget.
I also had the opportunity
to travel within the U.S. while
at Thunderbird; the Grand
Canyon, Bryce Canyon,
Joshua Tree National Park
and other places are great
natural monuments to visit.
Las Vegas is also not that far,
but this can be risky for your bank account ....
Taking a nap at Coronado's beautiful beach in San
Diego, riding a horse in Monument Valley, or renting
a houseboat with other friends at Lake Powell are also
unforgettable moments.
But the most important thing I gained beside my
studies at Thunderbird were the meetings I had, meet­ings
with people from Argentina, Colombia, Ger­many,
the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, the Czech Repub­lic,
Hong Kong, Taiwan or Japan. These are people I
wHl not forget.
These people and I all graduate and join a strong
Thunderbird network of more than 33,000 alumni all
over the world. The School's My Thunderbird informa­tion
technology system is a strong tool that then helps
all alumni keep in touch, from everywhere.
These are just some of the reasons why Thunderbird
is not a School like the others.
My stay at Thunderbird also allowed me to meet
representatives of international companies during the
Internship Fair. This is actually how I found the paid
internship I am currently on with Abbott Laboratories
in Chicago. The companies that come to recruit at
Thunderbird are looking for students with interna­tional
backgrounds. They know they will find skilled
people there, people who are aware of the interna­tional
issues, people who can adapt to a global world
more easily than students at other schools.
So here I am. Working for an international pharma­ceutical
company, with people from India, Ireland, the
Netherlands and Colombia, to organize Abbott's glob­al
logistic network.
My goal is to stay in this kind of company, where I
will still be able to enrich my cultural background and
professional life, to adapt to different issues and to
really feel like what Thunderbird taught me to be: a
"citizen of the world." •
p. 2 7
THUNDERBIRD MAINTAINS
EXCHANGE AND/OR DUAL
DEGREE PROGRAMS WITH
THE FOLLOWING FOREIGN
SCHOOLS
• Australia: Bond University
• Brazil: Coppead/ UFRJ.
Rio de Janeiro
• Brazil: Universidade
de Sao Paulo
• Chile: Adolfo Ibanez
• Chile: Pontificia Universidad
Cat61ica de Chile
• Costa Rica: Instituto
Centroamericano de
Administraci6n de Empresas
(INCAE)
• Egypt: American University
in Cairo
• Finland: Helsinki School of
Economics
• France: Ecole Superieure
des Sciences Economiques
et Commerce (ESSEC)
• France: HEC
• France: Rouen Graduate
School of Management
(ESC)
• Germany: European
Business School (EBS)
• Germany: The Europa­Universitat
Viadrina.
Frankfurt an der Oder
• Mexico: ITESM (Instituto
Tecnol6gico y de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey) in
Monterrey. or Mexico City
• Norway: Norwegian School
of Management
• South Korea:
Yonsei University
• Spain: Escuela Superior de
Administraci6n y Direcci6n
de Empresas (ESADE)
• Spain: Instituto Catolica de
Administraci6n y Direcci6n
de Empresas (ICADE)
p. 2 8 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU 55 / 1/2002
ENTREPREN EU RSH I P
IN FOREIGN LANDS
It seems clear that the terms "Thunderbird"
and "entrepreneur" go together like the
terms "foreign" and "travel," or "cross"
and "cultural." The type of person tradi-tionally
drawn to Thunderbird just seems
entrepreneurial.
In fact, there are so many T-birds entrepre­neurs
that we decided to focus on those who set
up businesses in foreign lands.
First, there was the problem of definitions.
How do you define "foreign land?" What
makes a country your "home" country as
opposed to a "foreign" one? Being born there?
Living there? Something else? Almost everyone
has one place that feels like home; the differ­ence
is that for T-birds "that place" is often not
the country where they were born.
T-bird entrepreneurs from Wiesbaden to
Singapore, Scottsdale to Sao Paulo, all share a
common trait: no matter where they started
life, they now have a thorough understanding
of, or a love for, a country in which they now
contribute to the economy as a business owner.
For Charles LaFond '80, Vienna has always
been "home." laFond first visited Austria as a
high school junior; he knew he would be back.
After Thunderbird LaFond went back to
Vienna, married his Austrian girlfriend, and
started working for Berlitz. Two years later, frus­trated
with Berlitz's lack of business English
offerings, he quit and started his own company,
the Business Language Center, teaching only
business English to companies.
For laFond, Austria has never really been a
foreign country. Already well established in the
local business landscape, laFond's biggest bar­riers
had nothing to do with being an American
in Austria, but with running the numbers. He
said his accounting classes as Thunderbird
"helped me survive" and added wryly, "The two
most important things are: one, get a good tax
advisor and two, get a good lawyer. It may cost
you more in the short run, but it's worth it."
Nor has France ever really been a foreign
country to Tracy Harsvik '89, who grew up in
Los Angeles. Harsvik had always wanted to live
in Paris, and even went to Thunderbird with the
intention of getting a job in France. But fate
Why not go abroad?
By BEATRICE BERNESCUT '90
intervened and it wasn't until 1998 that Tracy
and her husband, Oystein Harsvik '89, finally
moved to France. Once they did, Harsvik was
perfectly at home in Paris and had no qualms
about setting up her own business, Painted
Art.com. Originally set up to sell art on the
Internet, the bulk of Painted Art.com's business
now involves taking visitors to explore the
"hidden side" of Paris, meeting artists in their
ateliers and selling art.
For Alex de Faria e Castro '90, born and
raised in Germany, it was Russia that beckoned.
He said he feels as though he has a "Russian
soul" and that it is this ability to understand the
Russian mentality that enables him to do busi­ness
there. Once he realized that the corporate
life was not for him, he set up a business dis­tributing
food products in Russia (at one point
importing 1,000 tons of chocolate a month).
As for Scot von Bergen '74, it was experience
rather than instinct. After graduation, von
Bergen, who is from California, went to Brazil
for the Barnes Group (a parts manufacturer).
He then established Point Enterprises, selling
and distributing agricultural chemicals and vet­erinary
products throughout South America.
Von Bergen said he wasn't nervous about start­ing
a business in Latin America because he
already had more than ten years' experience
there, and because he spoke Spanish and
Portuguese fluently and knew how to handle
the different business cultures.
As for those cultural barriers, most T-birds
said they didn't really see any "cultural barri­ers."
Different ways of doing business, yes.
Subtleties about individual cultures, yes. But
not barriers. The only "cultural barrier" T-birds
consistently mentioned was leaping into the
entrepreneurial culture.
And what does that culture consist of? Web­ster's
defines an entrepreneur as "one who
organizes and assumes the risk of a business or
enterprise." That in itself seems obvious, but
what makes someone go and take on the risk of
starting a business? What kind of personality is
required? And are entrepreneurs born, or made?
The answer to the last question, at least,
appears to be "yes." Many T-birds always knew
that they would one day work for themselves,
while others seized an opportunity.
For Merle Hinrichs '65, CEO of Global
Sources, it was serendipity. "A set of circum­stances
provided an opportunity. Does anyone
ever know if they're going to be an entrepre­neur?"
Global Sources started with one trade
magazine, Asian Sources, which helped western
companies source goods from Asian suppliers.
Hinrichs' company is now an online commu­nity
creating and facilitating global trade
between buyers and suppliers. Its annual rev­enues
exceed US$95.3 million.
Sanjyot Dunung '87 also seized an opportu­nity.
During the early nineties, Dunung realized
that the world was changing and that people
were enormously interested in Asia. Born in
Bombay, and having traveled extensively
throughout the whole region, Dunung dearly
understood that part of the world. So she
founded AcrossFrontiers. com, which provides
cross-cultural training and services.
Circumstances were also what spurred Evan
Hassiotis '74. Originally from Greece, Hassio­tis
spent the first part of his career as an inter­national
banker then took a job with Booz
Allen Hamilton in 1987. Transferred to Singa­pore,
he disagreed with his employer's market
strategy and so decided
to set up his own
Singapore- and Jakarta­based
consultancy.
Chris Fussner '82,
on the other hand,
always knew he wanted
to own his own compa­ny.
"It was the only way
to make real money,"
he said. Fussner started
out in California. But
"Do a lot oj
and be realistic
And
to pursue
he loved the Orient, and it wasn't long before
his employer transferred him first to Korea,
then to Singapore. Fussner eventually quit and
set up his own business distributing electronic
manufacturing equipment throughout Asia.
Manfred Kohrs '80 was also determined to
go out on his own. He spent a number of years
working around the world for NCH before
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.THUND ERB IR D .E DU p . 2 9
p. 3 0
returning home to South Africa in 1986. While
he enjoyed the corporate life, he wanted to do
something entrepreneurial. A reorganizing
exercise persuaded Kohrs to start his own busi­ness
selling and distributing synthetic leather
products in Zimbabwe.
Regardless of how people become entrepre­neurs,
they seem to share several personality
traits, the most prominent of which is passion.
Passion clearly was the spur for George
Bradbury '99. Bradbury's career began in real
estate development. At the same time, he com­bined
his passion for horses (George breeds
Friesians) with his misting business and devel­oped
a misting system that protected horses
from the high heat and humidity of the Atlanta
Olympic Games.
Sherry Cameron '87 also talked about pas­sion.
Cameron moved to Singapore more than
nine years ago to work with a telecom compa­ny.
Soon, she and her business partner were
offering relocation assistance to expats moving
to Singapore. But while she enjoyed that busi­ness,
she wanted to do something she was pas­sionate
about, so she started importing and
exporting food products to Southeast Asia. That
business continues to grow, and she is current­ly
considering entering the Australian market.
Another shared T-bird trait is creativity. One
good idea seems to generate another, and T­bird
entrepreneurs often seem to leap from one
business into the next and the next. Bradbury
went from real estate to horse breeding and is
now exporting stone from China. De Faria e
Castro diversified into commercial real estate
development in Germany and in the u.S.
Kohrs, along with his brother and sister-in-law,
started a family business, the White Elephant
Lodge game reserve, near Durban.
Fussner, too, diversified. While vacationing in
Switzerland one summer, he was approached by
the owner of a prestigious vineyard about the
possibility of wholesaling wines. He now
imports Swiss and Italian wines into Singapore.
Passion, creativity - and don't forget per­sistence,
the willingness to learn from one's
mistakes, flexibility, and adaptability. "Entre­preneurship
is not about ego," said Bryan
Abboud '95, a Nebraska native who estab­lished
a software business for the gaming
industry, Global Entertainment, Inc., in the
Netherlands Antilles. Fussner added, "The key
ingredients are motivation, fear, and just going
out there."
But success is not just about personality -
education clearly plays a role.
How does Thunderbird keep encouraging its
entrepreneurs? Three years ago, Sam Garvin
'88, a member of the school's Board of Trustees ,
established the Samuel L. Garvin Distinguished
Professorship in Global Entrepreneurship to
WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.TH U NDERB I RD . EDU
serve as a foundation for a Global Entrepren­eurship
Center at Thunderbird. Originally held
by the high ly regarded Dr. Paul johnson, who
just retired, that professorship was held last
year by Dr. james Rothe, a visiting professor
from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
During his stay, Rothe carried out a compre­hensive
benchmarking study of other major
entrepreneu rship programs in the U.S. and
beyond. That study, combined with a stake­holder
survey of studen ts, alumni, faculty, and
staff, has helped the school defi ne the future
direction of its entrepreneursh ip program: a
program that wi ll include new courses, an
entrepreneurship focus area, internship oppor­tunities,
and other partnership programs.
Thunderbird is now seeki ng an expert who
can accept th at professorship and guide its
global entrepreneu rship program toward even
greater prominence.
In 2001. Thunderbi rd was also awarded a
grant by the Kauffman Entrepreneurship Intern­sh
ip Program. The Kauffman Center for Entre­preneurial
Leadership at the Ewing Marina
are part of
process. "
Kauffman Foundation pro­vides
grants that allow stu­dents
to undertake paid
internships in small start-up
companies. Competition for
such grants is intense and it
speaks well of both the School and Dr. johnson
that Thunderbird was selected for the program.
So, how did their Thunderbird education
help prior T-birds adlieve entrepreneuri al suc­cess?
Cameron put it this way: "Thunderbird
was my insp iration I I met people ea rly on who
had started their own businesses. Seeing other
people living their dreams convinced me that if
they can do it, so can I, both on a personal and
on a business leveL"
In Abboud's case, it was the cultural tra ining
he received at Thunderb ird th at helped him
identify the Netherlands Anti ll es as a country
that had the teclln ical infrastructure and legal
system he was looking for. He also credits
Thunderbird with providing the networking
and negotiation skills that enabled him to sur­mount
language and cultural barriers on the
is land. Today, his company employs 40 people
in Cura<;ao.
Anja Foerster '97 was also very clear about
how Thunderbird contributed to her success:
"Thunderbird gave me self-co nfid ence. I
learned to adapt fast to different situations and
different cu ltures." Foerster was a manager for
Accentu re until she tired of the travel and
decided to estab lish a consu lting business, the
Future Trend Institute, with her husband Peter
Kreuz '97.
For Adel Labib '83, Thunderbird's contribu­ti
on goes beyond mere business skills. Labib,
p .3 1
who is Egyptian, started his own telecom com­pany
in Switzerland, Telesonique. As he put it,
''The Thunderbird menta li ty is that you can go
anywhere and learn anything. Thunderbird
gives you confidence. For most people, going
international is taboo, but the Thunderbird
education takes away your fear of different cul­tures.
It doesn't tell you what to do; just gives
you ski lls and an open mind."
Finally, for those who dream of someday
becoming an entrepreneur - whether in the
country of their birth or any other - what
advice would these entrepreneurs give7
"Make sure to be patient and do your home­work.
Make a plan and stick to it, " said Bret
Baldwin '93. Baldwin, a Texas native, recently
opened a co nsulting practice in Texas with a
branch office in Singapore to assist companies
that want to establish themselves in Asia. "Yes,
there are differences in culture, differences in
expecta tio ns, but they only serve to build up
o ne's tolerance and your patience."
Hin richs cautioned t1lat it's important to be
ab le to actually run the business. "There are
many excellent ideas out there, but that's a
minor portion of the battle. You have to be able
to execute, implement, and manage," he
emphas ized.
But over and over again, the one consistent
piece of advice these T-birds gave was: Go for it!
They said to be careful and to plan out your
moves. To understand that everything possible
wi ll go wrong and to plan for that. To not get
reckless, but to definitely go for itl Labib said,
"You can't be half-hearted. You must commil."
De Faria e Castro added, "just take that first
step - jump off the ledge. Once you've done
that, you're 90 percent of the way there."
Going out on your own is never easy, nor is
it devoid of risk. So one wonders, when the
dlallenges seem daunting. would these entre­preneu
rs consider go ing back to work for some­one
else?
Hass iotis did. After a few years in the Far
East, he decided to return to his family's home
base in Atlanta, so he sold the business and
accepted the CEO ro le at a Greek multination­al.
But, he said, since he has invested some of
his own money, it didn't really feel as though
he was goi ng back to work for someone else.
Most T-b irds, however responded wi th a vari­ation
on the theme of "never in a million
years
Foerster said she simply couldn't. "Being an
entrepreneur changes your personali ty," she
said. "Once you've been on your own, going
back to a corporate environment is impossi­ble,"
Kohrs added. Perhaps Cameron summed
things up the best: "Whi le I work as many
hours as a corporate type, at least I am in the
driver's seal." •
p. 3 2 55 / 1 / 2002
WINTERIM IN ASIA
BY BENJAMIN CREERY '02
Twenty-five Thunderbird students learned how very much "culture does matter" by asking the tough questions
of senior managers responsible for implementing their firms' business strategies in Asia. Our January 2002-
Winterim course, "Big Emerging Markets of Asia: Korea, China and Thailand," and was led by Drs. Robert
Moran and Kishore Dash. Moran, the internationally acclaimed author of "Cultural Differences Matter," and Dash, a
specialist in Asian political economies, spent three weeks introducing students to Asian business leaders and practices.
KO REA
We arrived at our first destination - Seoul,
South Korea - ready for adventure. And we got
it. We were out visiting companies on our first
day, eventually visiting Samsung, SK Chemical,
the American Trade Representative from the
U.S. Embassy, the dean of Korea's top business
school and the ever-memorable Demilitarized
Zone (DMZ) that borders North Korea.
While at Samsung, SK Chemical and the uni­versity,
students were able to ask Korean general
managers and business school dean, Dr. Dong
Sung Cho, questions regarding the political and
economic issues Korea faces. Some questions
focused on the recent Asian financial crisis and
each company's ability to cope with the banking
industry's need to write off large amounts of
bad debt. Samsung believed that the write down
wouldn't affect it much since the company did
extensive international business in many cur­rencies.
Company representatives also talked
about the impact of the gradual currency deval­uation,
political-stability, and the North Korean
threat. Other questions focused on the social
aspects of business and helping us understand
the labor makeup in terms of gender roles,
income distribution, quality of life, and entre­preneurial
business opportunities.
Students were also interested in how global­ization
was affecting Korean business structures,
as well as in whether or not Chaebols (Korean
conglomerates) would be able to survive in the
face of increased competition from global firms.
According to Samsung officials, Korea's low cost
labor advantage was being challenged by
Malaysia, Taiwan, and Indonesia. We noticed
that many of the labor-intensive and intricate
manufacturing jobs were given exclusively to
women. Samsung managers said women had
better dexterity and capability to deal with
repetitive motion than men. Since much of
Korea's economy depends on the skillful execu­tion
of such jobs, those managers believed
women playa key role in Korea's economy. The
criticism is that despite their prevalence in the
work place, women are regarded as laborers.
Few of us met any female managers in any of
the Korean companies we visited.
Later that week, we discussed the same issues
- this time from an American perspective - at
a conference hosted by John E. Peters, minister
counselor for Commercial Affairs. There, the
family relationship-nature of Korean business,
new entrepreneurship opportunities, the rule of
law, and the Korean people's work ethic were all
major discussion points. Peters said there were
several reasons why Korea rebounded more
quickly from the current economic crisis than
did other countries, namely: Korea's interna­tionally
recognized level of political stability, its
people's incredible work ethic and strong sense
of unity, and the country's willingness to adopt
more efficient Chaebol practices, something
that quickly reassured foreign investors.
Despite our quest for business knowledge,
the highlight in Seoul for many of us was our
trip to the DMZ. While there, we were able to
both see and experience one of the last frontiers
of Communism and the Cold War. We encoun­tered
propaganda aimed at North Korea as well
as South Korea and even descended 200 feet
into a reported North Korean-dug invasion tun­nel.
That tunnel put us within feet of the actual
border. It was a fabulous experience.
The South Gate market and other destina­tions
provided shopping and eating opportuni­ties.
Sitting on heated floors, we ate traditional
kimchee and Korean barbeque after a hard
afternoon of shopping and photography.
We were fortunate that our hotel, the Hotel
Seokyo, was extremely close to the subway,
which was the quickest mode of travel. While
some students wandered the back alley restau­rants
and markets, others jogged to the new
World Cup Soccer Arena located just minutes
from the hotel. Seoul was alive with feverish
preparation, readying itself to receive the world
as hosts of the World Cup.
CHINA
After Korea, we went to Shanghai, China -
where many of our expectations were more
than contradicted by what we saw and heard.
Shanghai is, quite possibly, the most modem
city in the world, with huge, newly constructed
high-rise buildings as far as the eye can see. In
addition to the wondrous architecture, the old
British waterfront offered a peak into China's
past. The people were warm and friendly near­ly
everywhere we went.
We spent much of our time in China in the
New Pudong Economic Development Zone
where we visited Coca-Cola, Intel, and the auto
supplier Teleflex, asking about their profitabili­ty,
culture, and the unique challenges they
faced manufacturing for both domestic and
foreign markets.
Coca-Cola, a joint venture, had seen the
Shanghai market flatten as Pepsi pushed hard
for market share. At Intel, Bill Abraham, gener­al
manager, Intel Technology China Ltd. gave us
a tour of one of the company's flash memory
plants. He explained that Intel needed the gov­ernment's
help to achieve its goals. At one
point, Intel sent Chinese custom officers to a
U.S. customs office to benchmark and bring
back best practices. Since that trip, Intel's high­ly
depreciable supplies often clear customs in a
day or two, compared to the three weeks they
used to take. Abraham termed working with the
government and respecting China's judicial
body a key success factor. Intel has expanded its
plant three times in the past five years to meet
growing worldwide demand.
We also received a political/economics brief
from the American Consulate General in
55 / 1 / 2002
Shanghai and two Chinese governmental agen­cies
that help Chinese companies - and those
interested in coming to China - meet existing
and new World Trade Organization (WTO)
standards. China appears committed to inte­grating
into the world economic system and is
actively training academics to specialize in
WTO standards, so they can lead China's inte­gration
and governmental policy efforts. Those
officials told us that China is moving in the
WWW.THUND ERBIRD .EDU
only way possible toward economic integra­tion,
that the political system doesn't need to
change, and that changing to a democracy
would not serve the interests of development.
They see stability as the key to what they term
"sustainable development."
Sightseeing activities included nightly din­ners
overlooking the city, country tours around
some of China's most beautiful cities, and visits
to the famous black markets where pirated
p. 3 3
DVD's, imitation Cucci, and other brands could
be bought inexpensively. To our surprise, KFe,
Pizza Hut, and McDonald's were always filled to
capacity with young families eating American
and Chinese-tailored American foods.
China, and Shanghai in particular, appeared
to be a place where entrepreneurship abound­ed
and yielded tangible results. People seemed
to believe that with governmental understand­ing,
benchmarking, and cooperation, compa­nies
could find low cost labor and a semi-pro­tected
market to help ensure their profitability.
THAILAND
Although our course had originally been
designed to visit India, the political events of
last autumn forced us to make Thailand the last
leg of our Asian tour. We wound up enjoying
the country, visiting Toyota, Ford Motor
Company, and the U.S. Embassy's Office of
Political and Economic Development.
Our meetings focused on the number of
empty high-rise buildings left after the Asian
financial crisis. We learned that the Japanese
had invested aggressively in Thai real estate.
When the crisis hit, many were forced to aban­don
building projects. This left a real estate
glut, "For Lease" signs across many of Bang­kok's
high-rises, and at least 18 large, unfin­ished
and abandoned apartment buildings that
our group saw.
Luckily though, the Thai economy has been
growing over the past three years, albeit, at a
slower than pre-crisis rate.
At Ericsson and the American Chamber of
Commerce, we learned more about the role gov­ernment
and the Thai monarchy played in tele­com
industry deregulation. Ericsson's Asian vice
president said his company is meeting its Thai
objectives and pushing forward toward 3C and
digital wireless phones. Ponlatep Pantanakul,
general manager, Toyota Samron Plant Bang­kok,
said Thailand's economic turn around has
contributed to Toyota's success. According to
Pantanakul, the Thai king's ownership interest,
the company's early market entry, and its use of
a tight and influential dealer network were what
contributed to its market dominance.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Where else can students like me meet influ­ential
business leaders located in the countries
we're interested in working in, or really get to
know the local cultures and languages, or ask
questions of governmental leaders about con­troversial
political topics? Only at Thunder­bird!
•
Alumni and the public may take January Winterim
courses on a space available basis. Please contact
Thunderbird's James Scott '96 at (602) 978-7784
or at scottj@t-bird.edu
p .34 WWW.TH UN DERB I RD . ED U
Economic growth has slowed. Jobs are harder to come by. Yet, multinational challenges
just seem to multiply. All while technology keeps changing. • So, how exactly can
you sustain your own competitive advantage? More than 4,500 working executives
will do so with training from Thunderbird this year. • Although it is well known for its
fulltime degree programs, many alumni and other working executives don't yet realize how
many types of executive programs Thunderbird offers. Those programs include everything
from short functional, industry-, language-, or cultural-specific programs, to customized pro­grams,
to the School's top-of-the-Iine Thunderbird International Consortia programs.
55/1/2002
COMPA NY SPONSORED PROGRAMS
Called TIC, consortia programs create a
strategic learning partnership among senior
managers of non-competing global companies.
Those companies decide which topics to pur­sue
during each two-week TIC session. Thun­derbird
then develops a targeted curriculum
and facilitates benchmarking and best practices
exchanges between participants. The School
even helps TIC members conduct country spe­cific
research, recruiting natives from its full
time student body to help.
Similar to TIC programs, Thunderbird's cus­tom
programs are tailored to each client.
Custom programs are developed to address
specific needs. They can address one or several
topics, be delivered at a client's site and are
always tailored to each audience.
PRO GR AMS FOR INDI VI DUA LS
Do you need a quick business-specific lan­guage
course? How about a short program that
teaches the social and business norms of the
country you're moving to? Or how about a
negotiations course that covers the cultural
nuances you'll need to bargain effectively?
Thunderbird's Language and Culture Center
can provide all three programs.
Individual managers may also attend any of
the short function- or industry-specific pro­grams
Thunderbird offers. Such courses include
Global Finance for Non-Financial Managers,
Global Brand Management, Mergers &1 Acquisi­tions,
Managing Cross-Cultural Relationships,
Oil and Gas Industry Issues and Global Tele­communications
Management.
Executives many also obtain a Thunderbird
MBA part-time by taking classes at our Arizona,
Brazil. Taiwan, or (soon) French-Geneva sites.
Latin American executives can even enroll in
the School's unique distance learning degree
program, offered in partnership with ITESM.
EXECUTIVES TAKE WEEK LON G
LANGUAGE IM MERSI O N CO URSE
Students in Thunderbird's executive masters
degree program spent nearly a week speaking
only their target language as part of a new
three-credit "Intensive Second Language
Immersion Experience." It was the first time a
portion of their language study had been
offered immersion-style. And, although every­one
was noticeably exhausted afterwards, most
said they want even more language and cultur­al
immersion opportunities.
"Thunderbird's program is great and I'm so
glad I'm getting to take part in it," said Dr. Greg
Mayer, executive medical director, Hospice of
the Valley in Arizona. "The language week was
very intense, with lots of work - presentations,
dialogues, social setting activities - but it was
55 / 1 / 2002
very satisfy ing! We started on a Sunday and by
Monday night I was laying awake in bed thi nk­ing
in Spanish. I was amazed at how much con­tent
and how many new verb tenses I had mas­tered
by week's end."
Thunderbird's EMIM 11 class began the 21-
month degree program last August and has
been studying language as part of its every­other-
weekend curriculum fo rmat. However,
th is weeklo ng language format was a fi rst for
the Thunderbi rd executive degree program.
"Our goal with this week was to boost the
confidence level our students have in their abi l­ity
to operate in a foreign language environ­ment,"
said Barbara Carpenter, senior di rector
of Thunderb ird 's Executive MBA in In ternation­al
Management program. "With the help of
Thunderbi rd's very creative and dedicated fac­ulty
and some native speakers who are students
in our fu ll time program, we were able to create
a language experience that was both fun and
effective. "
The immersion session foll owed an intensive
first trimester dose of language and has been
fo llowed by a combination of distance learning
and in-class work. •
ONLINE CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS
BRANDING FOR GLOBAL SUCCESS
Start Dates: Aug. 6, 2002; Nov. 5, 2002
The process of building. mai ntaining and extend­ing
a global brand is explored in this 6-week
program through case studies of orga niza tions
such as Volkswagon, Yahoo and Royal Dutch Shel l.
US$ 2 ,49 9
NEGOTIATING TO WIN IN A
MULTICULTURAL WORLD
Start Dates: Sept. 3, 2002; Jan. 7, 2003
This 6-week program prepares managers and
executives who need to develop solid skills for
negotiating with people from diffe rent countries
and across cultures.
US$ 2 .499
THE EMERGING GLOBAL LEADER
Start Date: Oct. I . 2002
This 6-week program provides a framework for
leadership competencies and a cross-disciplinary
approach to developing as a global leader in
tomorrow's world.
US $2 .49 9
CORPORATE INNOVATION IN GLOBAL
ORGANIZATIONS
Start Dates: Dec. 2, 2002; Feb. 4, 2003
This 3-week program provides a blueprint for the
theory and practice of "intrapreneurship" through
the study of successful global innovators and
corporate cultures.
US$ I , 2 50
To register or request an eThunderbird demo. visit
http://www.thunderbird.edu/eThunderbird. For
more information, call 1-800-457-6959 within the
United States or 1-602-978-7864 in ternationally.
or email at elearning@thunderbird.edu.
WWW.T HU ND ERBIRD .E DU
BY SUSAN COFFROTH
You're a middle manager in an internation­al
company and vour supervisor has iden­

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Full Text

STRATEGIES
• ENTREPRENEURS IN OTI'tER LANDS
• HOME TO IRAN
THUNDERB I RD Maga z in e WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
THUNDERBIRD
Page 2
How Multinationals Sustain
Competitive Advantage
Rapid globalization means more entrants into
more markets. Getting or staying ahead takes work.
Page 8
The HR Side of Competitive
Advantage
People are fast becoming precious assets. How do
you attract, keep and move the very best?
Page 10
The Secrets of Achieving
Regional Business Success
Understanding how culture, language, demograph­ics
and politics impact a region is half the battle.
Page 16
Professional Consulting
Thunderbird runs a "big league" consulting service
that taps alumni and students for intelligence.
Page 24
Home to Iran
Samira Showghi '95 wasn't prepared for a journey
back to her childhood and heritage.
Page 28
Entrepreneurship in
Foreign Lands
T-birds tend to be highly entrepreneurial.
So why not start that business abroad?
T A BLE OF CO NTEN TS
Ranked # 1 in international business
by The Wall Street Journal and
U. S. News & World Report
Thunderbird is America's premier source of global
management education with operations in the U.S.,
France, Russia, China, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Brazil.
Page 1
THUND ERBIRD 'S COMPETITIVE
POSITION
Schools aren't immune from competition. Even
Thunderbird has had to evolve.
Page 19
M&AS FROM TEN PERSPECTIVES
Success comes from analyzing mergers from all angles.
A single course is team-taught by 10 experts.
Page 20
AN AMERICAN IN CUBA
Looking inside a ·restricted" land.
Page 26
A EUROPEAN AT THUNDERBIRD
An exchange student from ESSEC, a French "grande
ecole, " calls T-bird a rich multicultural experience.
Page 32
WINTER IM IN ASIA
Students spent three weeks in Korea, China and
Thailand learning the lay of each land.
Page 34
SUSTA INING PERSONAL ADVANTAGE
Executive Education that provides a needed edge.
Page 36
STRATEG IC CA REER MANAGEMENT
AT THUNDERBIRD
That all-important staff/student partnership just got
more intense.
Page 38
T- BIRD NEWS
Page 40
NETWORK NEWS
Page 44
UPDATES
ABOUT OUR COVER
Costa Rica-based Hector GOTOsabel '87,
vice president, North Latin America Division,
The Coca-Cola Company. called innovative marketing,
an outstanding distribution system and the
Coca-Cola brand itself some of his company's
best sources of advantage.
~~------------
55/1/2002 P AGE
ONE
For the past two years the Thunderbird community has been
engaged in an active and vigorous discussion about the future of
the School, its academic programs and the marketing face we use
to describe our programs. That discussion came into focus with the
spring meeting of the School's Board of Trustees. Over the course of that
month, faculty and staff, alumni, current students, our Trustees and
members of the Thunderbird Global Council met. The resulting debate
was often passionate, which
diploma. Those graduating from the four-semester program will also
have a non-English language proficiency listed and the opportunity to
earn a regional focus designation as well.
While the conversation about the name of the degree has been a
major focus for us for the last few months, it has hardly been the only
focus. We have also focused extensively on the progress being made on
the expansion of Thunderbird Europe in Archamps, France. The new
facility is being built in part­only
speaks to how deeply
so many of us care about
this institution and its lega­cy.
It was also a very helpful
process in leading the Board
to a condusion.
THUNDERBIRD'S
COMPETITIVE POSITION
nership with the Haute­Savoie
District government
and should be fully opera­tional
by the fall trimester.
Formal dedication cere­monies
are scheduled for
October 3 during our fall
Board meetings.
Fundamentally, the Board
made three key decisions.
• The Trustees reaffirmed
the School's commitment
to its tradition: an interna­tional
management educa­tion
built on a tripartite
base of business disciplines,
language and communica­tions
and international
coursework.
The expansion of Thun­derbird
Europe marks a
major strategic initiative for
the School. In anticipation
of the new faci lity, we have
already begun offering stu­dents
the opportunity to
start their Thunderbird pro­gram
in Archamps. In fact,
almost one quarter of our
Summer 2002 entering stu­dents
chose that option.
The new facility also posi­tions
Thunderbird to be
• They charged the Thun­derbird
administration and
faculty with ensuring that
everything the school does
is true to that vision of
international management.
• They approved the con­solidation
of Thunderbird's
two full-time degree pro­grams
into one program
with two tracks with the
By DR. ROy A. HERBERGER, JR., PRESIDENT, THUNDERBIRD
much more competitive in
the European executive edu­cation
market. allowing us
to build significant and
mutually productive rela-name
of the degree awarded
in both tracks being a Master of Business Administration in Inter­national
Management.
The program and character, the foundational philosophy of Thunder­bird,
was not changed.
Going forward students at Thunderbird will be awarded the MBA in
International Management. Students who come to us as part of a dual
degree program with another institution, or who have already earned
their MBA elsewhere, will continue to be awarded the Master of Inter­national
Management (MIM).
The MBA in International Management will be awarded to those
enrolled in the School's traditional four-semester course of study (Track
1) as well as those choosing Thunderbird's one-year/three semester pro­gram
(Track II) . Detailed descriptions of the content in both tracks can
be found on our website (www.thunderbird.edu). Students in both
tracks take the same courses and receive the same international manage­ment
core central to a Thunderbird education. Students graduating from
both programs will have their individual specialization noted on their
tionships with more Euro­pean
corporations.
Our strategy for several years has included diversifying the School
both programmatically and geographically. Adding the one-year track to
the full time program offerings, launching executive degree programs
with partners in Brazil, Taiwan and Mexico and the expansion ofThun­derbird
Europe are all examples. We believe that to position Thunder­bird
as a truly global institution, both of these forms of diversification
are critical to our long-term vitality.
Taking this course has meant making some upfront investments in
facilities and programs, but we are seeing the returns and are confident
they will continue to increase. We do, however, dearly recognize that it
will take focus and effort on our part to ensure our success. This is dear­ly
not a case of "if you build it, they will come." The new Thunderbird
Europe gives us a state-of-the-art management education facility; but
what will attract students and corporations to us will be the quality of
our content and instruction and our ability to showcase those capabili­ties
effectively to the right audiences. That is a challenge, but one we
eagerly embrace. •
p.2 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU 55/1/2002
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERBIRD . EDU p.3
HOW MULTINATIONALS
SUSTAIN COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE
• Consumers drink my beverages at the rate of 12,600
units per second . • I sell those drinks in nearly every
nation. • And even though at 116 I've been around
awhile, I'm still a market leader. • Who am I?
ong one of the world's
most recognized compa­nies
and brands, Coca­Cola
continues to pros­per
by innovating and
adapting to the local
needs of its customers
and consumers throughout the world. Despite
ferocious competition, significant currency
devaluations in key markets and major acquisi­tion-
related write-downs, the company report­ed
first quarter 2002 sales of US$4.08 billion
and has predicted long term growth approach­ing
six percent.
What is Coca-Cola's formula for success? Is it
simply a case of having the right product and
brand? Or is it more than that? Just what does
it take for a multinational like Coca-Cola to
sustain its competitive advantage?
"Our flagship Coca-Cola brand empowers us,
without a doubt, with a tremendous competi­tive
advantage and a solid foundation for suc­cess.
But it is just one of many elements that
enable Coca-Cola to create increasing levels of
value in an ever changi~g market environment,"
said Hector GorosabeJ '87, vice president,
North Latin America Division, The Coca-Cola
Company. "I'd have to say that an innovative
marketing approach and our unmatched distri­bution
system are important as well, as is our
focused, consistent approach to doing business.
"Exactly what the brand means is a difficult
question for Coca-Cola, since the brand has the
unique ability to connect with people on a vari­ety
of emotional and functional levels. [ can tell
you that we believe the brand stands for
BY LINDSEY MICHAELS
authenticity, for refreshment, and for enjoy­ment.
But I can also tell you that people who
drink Coca-Cola often do so because of the
enduring, emotional and refreshing connection
they have with the brand."
Yet Coke is only one of the 230 brands Coca­Cola
sells around the world. The company con­tinues
to leverage its competitive strengths as it
selectively broadens its family of beverage
brands to drive profitable growth. "We are com­mitted
to meeting the diverse preferences of
consumers by offering branded beverage solu­tions
in a variety of beverage categories and con­sumption
occasions," said Gorosabel. Several
examples of this diversified focus come in the
form of the Minute Maid juice and Dasani water
products. These two brands alone now yield a
significant portion of the company's revenues.
"Coke employs a Think local. Act local:
market strategy founded on the principal that
the company exists to benefit and refresh all
those who are touched by its brands," said
Gorosabel. Given that the product is so rela­tionship
based, the company tries to put locals
in charge of operations whenever possible -
believing they better understand local con­sumers,
as well as their social, economic and
political issues.
"As for our distribution system, our objective
is to ensure that ice cold Coca-Cola is always
within an arm's reach of local consumers,
whenever and wherever they need the physical
or emotional refreshment of the unique Coca­Cola
taste sensation."
To deliver on that goal, Coca-Cola has con­structed
an unrivaled worldwide bottling net-work;
consisting of a combination of privately­owned,
company-owned and jointly-owned
bottling operations.
More than two-thirds of Coca-Cola's unit
sales take place outside of the U.S.; while three­quarters
of the company's operating income
comes from overseas.
"The key is creating a shared vision with our
bottling partners; one based on respect and
mutual success," said Gorosabel. "Although we
have different goals and responsibilities within
the value chain, we ultimately share the same
goal: To creatively and consistently form mean­ingful
relationships with consumers. Our con­tinued
success lies in our ability to grow system
profitability and capability together with our
bottling partners while consistently focusing
on these relationships. "
The company and its bottlers share a propri­etary
supply chain system that provides almost
up-to-the-minute sales details. "We're so well
connected that if you asked me how much of
each product we sold today in some small 200-
person Venezuelan town, I could probably tell
you." That system allows everyone along the
value chain to have a clear picture of exactly
what's selling, how different promotions are
affecting sales and where stock must be replen­ished.
Which all makes customer relationship
management much easier and more effective.
"There's a tremendous amount of work done
at the country, city and even neighborhood
level that helps us understand what our con­sumers
want and why they want it," explained
Gorosabel. "We have a set of indicators that we
follow on a daily basis, which include sales,
p.4
revenues, product packages and channels. We
also track things daily on an in-store basis using
a variety of research methodologies."
One such technique is old-fashioned obser­vation.
According to Gorosabel, his best market
intelligence often comes from his store sales
people. That's because they're in retail locations
talking to management and customers almost
every day. "While they're there, they check our
point-of-purchase advertising, ensure that
everything is dean and that the prices are
marked dearly. But the most important thing
they do is build valuable relationships," said
Gorosabel. "These value based relationships
make it harder for other companies to compete
on price alone."
All that primary and secondary data flows
upward electronically through each region
until it reaches the firm's Atlanta headquarters.
Teams there analyze this information and
begin to form - or act upon - new products
and strategies.
"A lot of our new product development takes
place centrally in Atlanta," said Gorosabel. "But
each region also has at least one major product
development center and several minor ones. In
my case, our primary innovation center is locat­ed
in Rio de Janeiro."
Coca-Cola's innovation centers can experi­ment
with new products for local consumers,
sharing their most promising new finds with
their corporate headquarters.
"Today's consumers are increasingly more
sophisticated. They want more choices - and
the opportunity to change from time to time. In
Japan, for instance, where the market is extreme­ly
dynamic, we introduce more than 200 new
products each year. That's one every day and a
half or so. Other new product introductions, like
Diet Coke with Lemon and VaniLla Coke, offer
consumers exciting new twists on two of the
world's most loved global brands."
"When you get right down to it, products are
the only things that make money for a compa­ny.
Everything else is just a cost. So you have to
have an effective global product development
process and strategy," said Dr. Sundaresan Ram,
an associate professor of marketing who teach­es
Thunderbird's Global Product Development
and Management program.
"With global companies, products aren't just
in different stages of their life cydes. The same
product is often in different stages in different
countries simultaneously."
According to Ram, successful global compa­nies
typically have cross functional/cross geo­graphical
"innovation teams." Those teams
must anticipate market shifts, evaluate concepts
from diverse perspectives, then shepherd prod­ucts
all the way through from design through
WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU
launch. They must also obtain country-specific
insight and country-head buy-in early in the
design process and then execute the rollout.
"Coca-Cola and Gillette have their imple­mentation
process down to a fine art," said
Ram. "Both have strong global distribution net­works
and a thorough understanding that shelf
space is key in consumer marketing. Both also
have strong brands - which they support heav­ily
with advertising - so both can pretty much
get whatever shelf space they want or need.
"The real reason they get that shelf space
though is because their products sell. That's the
bottom line. And they sell because the people
in those companies generally do their home­work
- and do it well."
With some notable exceptions.
"Everyone knows that New Coke was a disas­ter,
a rare instance where someone's gut must
have meant more than good research," said
Ram. "But the New Coke product launch itself
was phenomenal. All manufacturing, distribu­tion
and advertising systems
worked extremely well."
Ram called that repetition
another competitive advan­tage.
Having done multiple
multi-site product launches for
many years, the company now
does them seamlessly. Ram
termed the company's strong
relationships and local knowl­edge
two other advantages.
"When I lived in India, for
instance," Ram said. "I used to
buy my razor blades one at a
time at the little Mom & Pop
store down our street. Then I
went home, broke the blade in
two and shared half with my
brother. There was no such
thing as multi-blade packs like
those you find here in the
States; if there had been, we
couldn't have afforded them."
In India, Mom & Pop stores
are still the dominant retailers.
Unfortunately, each store may only stock one
of each item, investing no more than US$5 to
US$25 in total inventory. So, finding a local
distribution service that does quick restocks
would give a company an edge.
"While you need people with many skills on
your innovation team, the most important skill
may be dealing with diversity," said Ram. "You
need people who are immersed in local cul­tures,
people who can detect market shifts early
on, people who realize that a product will have
to be marketed entirely differently in each coun­try
- even if the customer profile itself is exact­ly
the same in two countries. That means a very
55/1/2002
different mix of package look, size, language,
point-of-purchase, advertising, distribution
methods and strategy for everywhere you sell."
It also means companies that want to get
ahead - or stay ahead - of market shifts and
competitors need numerous partners.
Santiago Hinojosa '73, the Miami, Florida­based
president and CEO of Latin America for
Burson-Marsteller, is one such partner. His firm
specializes in building corporate brand and
reputation.
"We work with the belief that reputation is
ultimately based upon behavior, that reputation
is vital to business success and that targeted and
compelling communication plays a crucial role
in influencing perception and reputation,"
Hinojosa said. "My job involves adding strategic
senior level value way up the food chain."
According to Hinojosa, Burson-Marsteller
begins each strategy session by bringing togeth­er
senior managers such as the CEO, COO, vice
president of marketing and the communica-tions
vice president. "Our methodology walks
those dients through an industry or regional
assessment, a competitor analysis and a key
audience overview. By the end of the day,
dients can usually articulate their goals and
barriers."
Hinojosa did admit that it was fairly com­mon
for senior managers from the same com­pany
to enter a session with completely differ­ent
perceptions and goals. When that occurs, he
uses his team's neutrality and third party analy­sis
to challenge assumptions and look at things
objectively. If dients still can't agree on goals
and achieve executive buy-in, it's almost impos-
SS / I / 2002 WWW.THUND ERBIRD . EDU p .S
p .6
sible for Hinojosa and his team to construct an
effective action plan.
[f they can agree, Hinojosa's team goes right
to work.
"Let's look at Argentina," he said. "[ts curren­cy
is in such flux right now that some compa­nies
are pulling out. We recommend against
that because Latin Americans tend to be very
brand loyal. Once you lose them, it's very diffi­cult
and expensive to win them back."
So assume you're a consumer products com­pany
with highly established brands. Argentina
has long been a large and profitable market.
Unfortunately, lost sales and write-downs may
now force you to report quarterly earnings that
are two cents below what analysts expect.
"Well, we'd say, 'Don't leave the market:"
Hinojosa said. "Then we'd help them adjust
their costs so they could sell products at a price
consumers could still afford.
"Rather than dosing a plant, which would
raise a whole new set of issues, we'd prefer to see
the company lower costs by, say, switching from
its Miami-based toothpaste cap supplier to one
located in Argentina or Venezuela. Doing so
would reduce both manufacturing and trans­portation
costs," Hinojosa said. "We might also
recommend reducing the product size from
eight ounces to four to make it affordable. As for
media, we'd cut it too. Probably use more point­of-
purchase displays and trim television ads
from 3D-seconds to lO-second 'billboard' shots
- just to keep the brand out there. Then we'd
look for ways to help the community."
Such moves, he said, would help the compa­ny
minimize its loss, while also protecting mar­ket
share and bolstering the dient's brand
image and corporate profile.
Peter Chudy 'S7 provides competitive
advantage opportunities of another kind. The
Warsaw, Poland-based Chudy is director of
consulting practices at Central European Trust
(CET). Founded shortly after the Berlin Wall
fell, CET specializes in helping companies enter
central and eastern Europe.
More than 25 percent of the world's Fortune
100 companies have hired CET.
'This was a depleted market in 1989. One
with a hunger for all things western," Chudy
said. With millions of new potential customers,
crrs dients were anxious to get in, to find a
good distributor and to start building market
share. CET provided each an edge by introducing
company officials to the right high-level business
and government contacts, as well as by providing
critical first-person business intelligence.
'Things began to change in 1992. That's
when emerging countries began forcing foreign
companies to invest in their countries, impos­ing
import tariffs. Our job shifted more toward
researching manufacturing facilities, labor laws,
WWW.THUNDERBIRD . EDU
wage issues and each region's microeconomic
development programs."
In some cases, Chudy's analysis showed that
the company would benefit by purchasing a
local plant. In others, his team determined that
using a greenfield, or build-from-scratch
approach, would be preferable.
"Reducing production costs is something
that will help any company sustain its advan­tage,
so we're always planning ahead for major
shifts. For instance, Poland is to Germany what
Mexico is to the U.S. - a far cheaper labor pool
just across the river."
Labor costs in Poland are less than one-sev­enth
of what they are in Germany, Chudy said.
Therefore, it's cheaper to shift manufacturing or
service centers there. But labor costs in the
Ukraine are only about one-fourth of those in
Poland, so should a company switch its manu­facturing
to there? Probably not if you factor in
the political risks of Ukraine's instability,
Chudy said.
Chudy and his team routinely do that type of
analysis and legwork for multinationals. They
also advise dients when they should begin
building educational programs and infrastruc­ture
in preparation for their next country move.
According to Chudy, shoe manufacturing has
already begun shifting out of Spain and
Portugal, but with Poland already too expen­sive,
producers are looking even further east.
Auto assembly has shifted from Germany to
Poland, The Czech Republic, and Hungary. Tex­tile
production has begun moving into Georgia
and Kazakhstan.
Then there's the European Union (EU) fac­tor.
"Poland, The Czech Republic, Hungary,
Slovenia, Estonia and Latvia are all poised to
enter the EU," he said. "Once they do, a huge
amount of money will be transferred from
Brussels to these countries and many of the tar­iffs
protecting them will be removed. That's
going to cause Europe to become even more
competitive. "
Who does Chudy see as the "dark horse"
gems for multinationals?
Croatia, because of its beautiful coasts and
location. Bulgaria, which has excellent poten­tial
under its new government. And Russia,
which, given its size and natural resources,
could well "blossom" within 10 years.
Bob Lees '77 is a true Asia-Pacific veteran.
The former secretary general and president of
the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC),
Lees was recently appointed executive advisor
Asia Pacific at KPMG Consulting, [nc., which is
one of the world's largest business and consult­ing
technology integration firms.
"[ began doing business in China over 20
years ago at a time when nearly all of Asia's
55 / 1/2002
domestic markets were relatively dosed," said
Lees. "Things have changed dramatically since
then. Asia is now a healthy market and a major
base of operations for many of the ' world's
multinational corporations."
Lees, who headed the prestigious PBEC for
10 years, said that the region is bouncing back
from its recent crisis and that multinationals
must be players in Asia to remain competitive.
"One third of the world's population lives in
Asia, and although Japan's phenomenal growth
ended in recession 11 years ago, the rest of Asia
is growing and China's market has been like an
SOD-pound gorilla on steroids."
Lees cautioned that multinationals must
adopt very different strategies in each country,
rather than simply treating the region as a sin­gle
market entity. Vietnam, for instance, is
extremely young demographically, while
Japan's population is much older. Common­alities,
however, do exist across countries. The
most notable are that:
• The people have a strong work ethic,
• They value education,
• Personal savings rates are high, and
• Good government contacts can be critical.
"Multinationals going to China can actually
have an advantage over local competitors in
that China's consumers have traditionally been
quite parochial in their buying habits. Its peo­ple
have historically bought local products
from local companies so it was difficult for
many Chinese companies to expand nationally.
Multinationals, however, can have a 'national
brand' image, which makes it easier for them to
gain acceptance across the nation. One of the
biggest mistakes 'new-to-the-market' multina­tional
firms make in Asia is assuming that their
products have brand recognition like they do
back in their home market. They don't. To be
successful, multinationals must be in for the
long haul, be good corporate citizens and
invest much, much more in public relations
and marketing than they generally plan to.
"China's entrance into the World Trade
Organization changes that large and growing
market for the berter," Lees said. "In effect,
China will be much more open to foreign
products and Chinese companies will be seek­ing
foreign partnerships and advanced technol­ogy
to make them more competitive."
While Lees' contacts and Asian expertise are
somewhat proprietary, he did offer a few sug­gestions
for multinationals to think about.
China is quickly becoming one of the world's
largest markets. Companies must be part of
that market. But we should not forget Korea,
Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Each offers
huge potential to global corporations, not only
for sales, but also for manufacturing and
regional operations hubs. •
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.THUND ERBIRD .E DU p.7
p.8
What makes two seemingly similar
companies perform so differently?
One outperforms the market. The
other barely meets estimates. While each
appears to have the same asset mix and market
niche, one is dearly doing more.
What's the source of that advantage?
"Most companies can access the same finan­cial,
technological, and strategic capital. What
they can't copy is organizational capability.
That is, intellectual capital. the talent pool, and
how those people work together," sajd Dr.
Warren Wilhelm, a Harvard-educated expert in
leadership development, human resource man­agement
and corporate change who teaches
part-time at Thunderbird. "We're talking about
a culture and the people who are steeped in it.
Which is difficult to replicate."
While most other assets can be acquired -
quickly if need be - culture can only be built
and changed slowly, according to Wilhelm.
When people talk about business-related cul­tural
issues, they tend to mean the regional.
ethnic, and religious nuances Thunderbirds
accommodate. Yet corporate cultures also
indude an often-overlooked component ca1led
"mindset," he said.
"Mindset is more than culture. It is how peo­ple
in each organization behave and think.
How they view the company, its customers,
each other."
Wilhelm beJieves it's much more difficult to
get people to work together and move forward
when they don't share the same mindset. It's
also much more costly in terms of lost produc­tivity
and having to allocate resources to
"change" instead of "charge."
Successful companies, Wilhelm said, begin
by hiring the right people, people with the
appropriate mindset. They then actively nur­ture,
challenge and reward their people.
'The employee 'on-boarding' process is criti­cal.
New hires need to understand exactly what
the company is, what it does, how it makes
money, the impact of environmental change and
competitors. You'd be surprised how many don't.
Your people then need regular 'growth doses:"
Through its 1998 study, "War For Talent,"
McKinsey & Company learned what motivated
and helped retain top talent. Continuous
growth, challenge, an ability to make a dear
impact, respect, excitement, and a winning
company were critical. Compensation wasn't.
Wilhelm stressed that companies must
actively track their best people from the day
they join, providing continuous feedback and
learning opportunities. He also said tlley
should move people to new positions as soon
as tlley've learned 80 percent of what they can
learn in their current job - before they begin
to feel stagnant and get bored.
WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55/1/2002
Attracting and keeping the best and ~W6St
BY UNOSEY MICHAElS
"Retention and succession planning process­es
have to be driven by the CEO," Wilhelm said.
"Someone who says, I'm serious about this.
You'll be rewarded for grooming and sharing
talent, punished for hoarding it. Someone who
ensures that managers who share talent get back
people who are as talented as those they give.
''There also has to be someone, or a team, at
the corporate level who is forrna1ly in dlarge of
such processes, because if left alone for even a
month or two, programs like this will die."
Wilhelm cited GE, Nestle, JP Morgan, Col-
55 / I / 2002
gate-Palmolive, and Unilever as companies he
has personally worked with that handle such
functions well.
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) company is anoth­er
multinational that works hard on people
issues. Then chairman and CEO Ralph Larsen
focused specifically on leadership, values, and
hi ring the right people in his April 2002 address
at Thunderbird. (Please see sidebar.) Michael
Carey, vice president, Human Resources for J&J
later discussed some of the human resources
strategies and unique challenges his company
faces.
"Fi rst of all, we try to hire people who fit well
with the Johnson & Johnson company culture,
people who will live by the credo that drives
everything we do," explained Carey. "We also
tend to hire local managers because we believe
they understand their countries, cultures, and
competitive landscapes better than anyone else.
They also tend to have strong local networks to
draw upon."
J&J typically hi res Thunderbirds into its
12-18 month International Development Pro­gram
with the goal of returning them to their
own countries within three years. During that
time th ey, like other hires, are taught about J&J
in classes conducted by senior managers -
including the CEO. They also participate in the
company's ongoing assessment and succession
development process.
"We have a formal Standards of Leadership
process that tracks our people according to the
five areas we most value. That model looks li ke
a pinwheel, with our credo at the center and the
other values radiating out from there."
According to Carey, performances are tracked
at the business unit, regional, and presidential
level. And, how well each person "attracts,
recru its and grows new talent" is a defi nite per­fo
rmance factor. Managers are expected to
groom talent until each person has peaked
within his or her business unit. Those managers
must then be wi lling to give up those people to
other units so that they and J&J can grow.
Carey himself is a byproduct of J&J's succes­sion
planning process. He's worked in seven
di fferent units during his 35 years with J&J.
While J&J defi nitely tries to rotate people
within the same region for as long as possible,
Carey said the company does move people into
its Intern ational Service Category for two rea­sons:
when the company needs their expertise
in a new market, and when they need a two- or
th ree-year international ass ignment to enhance
their growth.
"We often use existing talent to seed a new
organization," Carey said. "However we try to
manage that process very closely since the aver­age
expatriate assignment can cost us $300,000
per year over and above that employee's salary."
WWW.THUND ERBIRD. EDU
JOHNSON & JOHNSON CEO SPEAKS AT THUNDERBIRD
Ralph Larsen, chairman and CEO of
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) came to
Arizona in April solely to address Thunder­bird.
His topic: "Leadership in a Values­Based
Organization."
A US$33 billion company with more than
100,000 employees that sells in 175 coun­tries,
J&J has long been a strong supporter of
Thunderbird. The company has hired more
than 100 Thunderbird students in recent
years and has also used the School's Cor­porate
Consulting arm to perform several in­depth,
country-specific projects. I&J is also a
generous scholarship contributor.
'The most important reason I am here is
because you are very, very important," said
the affable Larsen. "As I already told one of
your people, the single most serious short­age
we have within Johnson & Johnson is
leaders for the future."
According to Larsen, J&J has been grow­ing
its top line business at an average annu­al
rate of 10 percent to 12 percent for 100
years. Bottom line growth has averaged 12
percent to 15 percent. In fact, had you pur­chased
$10,000 of J&J stock in 1989, when
Larsen became CEO, that investment would
have grown in value to $140,000 now.
Although the company is still best known
for its infant care and other consumer prod­uct
lines, )&J's Codman unit is the world's
largest manufacturer of science-based and
neuro-surgical products. Its Ethicon division
provides most of the world's surgical sutures,
and its Ortho unit owns a significant share
of the world's pharmaceutical market.
Larsen quickly attributed
the majority of J&Js success
to its unshakable core values.
"Johnson & Johnson is a company built
around very strong values and a heritage
that is expressed in our credo," Larsen said.
"It's on the back of our annual report and
it's a document that we take very seriously."
That credo expresses the company's
responsibility toward customers, employees,
communities, and shareholders. And,
according to Larsen, that credo is lived and
breathed by employees throughout the
world.
"My job, for instance, is to run a good,
decent, and ethical company as best we can
in a complicated world ... to ensure that the
types of things we see happening elsewhere
- cutting corners, inflating numbers -
doesn't happen here."
Larsen said he focused the bulk of his
efforts on people issues. He also said he and
other senior managers personally discuss
values and responsibility with new employ­ees
during their first year with )&1.
A highly decentralized company that
prefers to place nationals back in their
home countries, J&J relies on its credo of
shared values to foster a sense of common
purpose and camaraderie.
"We attract people to J&J who share the
same values as us," he said. "You can't teach
those values and you can't teach heart. The
heart of our company is all about people
who care deeply about companies and cus­tomers.
"As you complete your graduate school
program at Thunderbird, one of the finest
graduate schools in the world, I hope you
will choose companies and
careers that are consistent
with your core values."
p.9
_p._J °-----------11 vIEWPOiNT 1t-----------55
-
1
-1'2 _0_02
THE SECRETS OF ACHIEVING
REGIONAL BUSINESS SUCCESS
A SWOT analysis
t Thunderbird, students spend as much time studying the impact of culture, religion, family and lan­guage
issues on each country's business practices as they do studying functional business skills them­selves.
They learn informally, from fellow students and professors who come from more than 60
nations, as well as from formal international studies courses. Here, professors who teach four of Thunderbird's
Regional Business Environment courses graciously provide brief, competitive assessments of their regions.
ASIA
BY DRS. KlSHORE DASH AND M.AlmN SOURS
Although events like the 1997 financial cri­sis,
the collapse of the IT bubble and the Sep­tember
11 terrorist attacks have put a brake on
Asia's growth, the region is still an attractive
investment destination.
Despite economic difficulties, Japan's econo­my
is still the second largest in the world. With
a combined population of more than 2 billion,
China and India are emerging as the fastest
growing world economies and are leading the
recovery race with seven percent and five per­cent
annual growth respectively. Singapore,
with its state-of-the-art ports and relative lack of
corruption, continues to attract large sums of
foreign direct investment. With Malaysia and
South Korea on strong economic recovery
tracks, investors' confidence is growing there.
According to Mark Newman, vice president
and CFO for GM Shanghai, "Eight countries
will account for 60 percent of the automotive
industry's growth over the next 10 years and four
of those countries - China, India, Thailand
and South Korea - are in Asia." Asia is a vast
potential market, yet despite its apparent attrac­tiveness,
Asia's political, economic and cultural
challenges make doing business there complex.
For one thing, the rules and business prac­tices
in Asian countries are in constant flux.
Those rules can change in the middle of a trans­action,
throwing an investment strategy into
total disarray. Also, many Asian governments
make last-minute pricing demands that can
wreak havoc on strategies.
Although changing, regulators and share­holders
are often the same entity in Asia, mak­ing
bureaucratic maze and frequent govern­ment
intervention a fact of life. Therefore,
investors must truly understand Asia's policy-making
context, the important players and
their roles in the policy-making process.
Another critical issue that shapes Asia's busi­ness
environment is cultural. The institutions
of a nation (constitutions, laws, property rights,
government) are all shaped by culture. These
institutions help shape the nation's business
culture by legitimizing certain behavioral pat­terns
and then rewarding those who comply
and punishing those who don't.
Over time, of course, cultural values may be
refined by economic development and expo­sure
to other cultures.
Many observers have spoken about the glob­al
(predominantly Western) culture of business
and how it equally applies to Asia. While this is
as erroneous as generalizing Asia as one cul­ture,
executives should remain sensitive to
some common aspects of Asian business cul­ture.
Doing so will help them avoid many
unpleasant experiences.
Some Asian-wide business practices are a
manifestation of the culture: government-busi­ness
relationship, informal decision-making
process, relationship-orientation, family-based
business practices, time flexibility, opaque
communication patterns, ambivalent commu­nications
as reflected in "YesNo" responses,
lack of legal code and the prevalence of oral
contract, tolerance for corruption and patent
infringement.
Most companies realize that to be a major
global player, they need to participate in Asian
markets. But given the political and cultural
complexity of the Asian countries, what do they
need to do?
To start, companies must be sensitive to the
following to succeed in Asia. First, day-trading
dynamics will certainly not work. Companies
need long-term investment strategies. Second,
companies should be sensitive to the PRC
(patient, relationship, cash) principle. Third,
like any rational investment, investors must
diversify. Putting all the eggs in one basket (one
country) isn't a smart strategy.
Thunderbird's Regional Business Environ­ment
- Asia (RBE: Asia) course, like other RBE
courses, is designed to prepare students to nav­igate
through the political. economic and cul­tural
context of regional business activities. The
course continues the tradition begun at the
1946 founding of the institution, when "Asian
Survey" was one of the regional courses offered
to students seeking tlle Bachelor or Master of
Foreign Trade degree. Today RBE: Asia tightly
focuses on the factual and conceptual elements
needed for sophisticated analysis of the chang­ing
and evolving Asia-Pacific region.
55 / 1/ 2 0 02
Because of Asia's tremendous diversity and
size, the course focuses on Northeast. East.
Southeast and South Asia as regional subsets
that are tied together using the concepts and
institutions studied in Thunderbird's Inter­national
Political Economy (lPE) course.
Students must understand the basic ele­ments
of Eastern thought. religions and cus­toms,
and how they create tensions given the
ongoing globalization process. Key national
economies are discussed using case material,
including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan,
Singapore, Vi etnam, the Malay Southeast Asian
world and India. Studies of important emerg­ing
business trends, such as software, telecom,
and biotech developments, also give students a
more detailed understanding of Asia's business
opportunities and challenges. Students also
prepare briefing papers that di scuss industries
or companies in key countries.
EUROPE
DR. OLUFEMI BABARINDE
The European business envi ronment has
been undergoing acute eco nomic, political,
social and legal changes. Paradoxically, both
WWW.T HU ND ERB I RD .E D U
centrifugal and centri petal fo rces are at work
the re. On the one hand, there is evidence of a
"Europeanization" process, manifested in inter­dependent
national economies, coordinated
na tional policies, and a pan-European business
orientation. On the other hand, we also see evi­dence
of virulent nationalism and separatism,
including active separa ti st movements in
Russia, Spain, and Yugoslavia. Similarly, ultra­nationalist
radi cal right political parties have
fared remarkably/ relati vely well in recent el ec­tio
ns in Austri a, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Italy, the Netherlands, and Romania.
Other developments with fa r-reaching impli­cations
include the advent of the Euro in its
phys ical fo rm and the graying of Europe. On
January 1, 2002, th e European single currency,
the Euro, became a physica l reali ty. On March
1, the Euro became the sale legal tender in 12
of the 15 member countries of the European
Union (EU), collectively known as "Euroland"
or the "Euro-zone." The inception of the Euro
p . 1 1
was one of the most extraordinary, captivating.
and far-reaching watersheds in the evolution of
European integration in that it amounted to a
substantial transfer of sovereign ty.
The Euro is expected to strengthen European
identi ty, bolster European solidari ty, and con­tribute
to the tranquility that has existed in the
EU since World War II. The European Central
Bank, the European Commiss ion and others
also believe that th e Euro will promote eco­nomic
stability and prosperity, strengthen the
Single European Market, and encourage invest­ment
in Euro land, the EU and beyo nd.
Comprised of Austri a, Belgium, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxem­bourg.
the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain,
the Euro-zone already has a combined con­sumer
population of over 300 million and an
aggregate gross national product (GNP) of
almost €6 trillion (US$6.5 trillion), represent­ing
22 percent of world GNP. Euro land also
accounts for about 18 percent of world trade.
Compare that to the U.S., which has 280 mil­lion
people and accounts for 30 percent of
world GNP and 20 percent of world trade.
Another phenomenon is the demographic
p . 12
time bomb in Western Europe. In 2000, 16 per­cent
of Western Europe's population was 65
years of age or older. That share could jump to
25 percent by 2030 and to 30 percent by 2050.
Today, each elderly Western European is sup­ported
by more than four working age people.
That ratio will be two-to-one by 2030 and less
than two-to-one by 2050. Worse, the region's
fertility rate is falling, including in Italy and
Spain where birthrates are roughly 1.2 children
per woman. Both trends will impact labor sup­ply,
social security systems, marketing strategies
and immigration policies.
Whereas the graying of Europeans might sug­gest
a declining European market, it presents
immense opportunities for the pharmaceutical,
healthcare, insurance and equity product and
tourism sectors. For example, despite resistance
to private pension schemes in some EU coun­tries,
pension fund assets should grow by €3
billion between 2000 and 2010. The consumer
products companies can focus less on baby for­mulas
and more on nutritional supplements,
less on diapers and more on Depends, while
the tourism/hotel industry can cultivate the
elderly, who have more free time and dispos­able
income. Another business opportunity,
especially in Germany, is the availability of
small- and medium-sized manufacturing bus i-
WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU
nesses because the children of their retiring
baby boomer owners are not interested in run­ning
the fam ily business; they prefer Informa­tion
Technology and related jobs.
One should also understand the rules of the
game in the context of who and what counts in
Europe before doing business there. The
European Commission, the Council, the Court
of Justice, and the Parliament are all important.
For companies contemplating mergers and/or
acquisitions, or those that may be investigated
for running afoul of the EU's antitrust rules, the
Directorate-General for Competition and the
Court of First Instance, matter. The European
Economic Area, which encompasses the EU
and three of the four European Free Trade
Association countries, basically sets the pace for
business in Europe.
Even and especially in Europe, companies
must research and identify market segments
carefully since significant variations exist
among cultu res, languages, motivations, prod­uct
preferences, economic sizes and per capita
incomes. For example, Nordic and Alpine/Ger­manic
Europeans are known for their low con­text
communication style while Mediterranean
Europe has a high context oral one. While the
British tend to prefer well-rounded generalists
who take initiative and responsibility for sen-
55 / 1 / 2002
ior management positions, the Germans prefer
specialists who persuade others by the merits
of their arguments, while the French empha­size
intellectual cleverness/rigor and prefer
strategic/conceptual thinkers. The evolving
management style in Eastern Europe seems to
suggest a preference for the Germanic and
Nordic models.
LATIN AMERICA
DR. ROY N ELSON
Despite some recent developments in Latin
America, such as the severe financial crisis in
Argentina and political instability in Venezuela,
there are reasons to believe that long-term busi­ness
prospects in the region are highly favor­able.
With some notable exceptions, such as Cuba
and (now) Venezuela, the pursuit of market­oriented
policies (reduction of tariff barriers,
privatization of state-owned enterprises, elimi­nation
of subsidies) has become the new con­sensus
among Latin American governments,
and this trend seems likely to continue.
On a regional level, the Free Trade Area of
the Americas (FTAA) is well on the way to
becoming a reality sometime in the near future,
despite resistance among some countries which
could postpone the planned start date of2005.
55/1/2002
Although this free trade zone will
be phased in only gradually, it will
encompass the entire western hemisphere and
will therefore facilitate trade in the region dra­matically.
While the overall trends are favorable, it is
useful to highlight some specific issues within
individual countries in the region:
Argentina. In the wake of riots in December
2001 that led to the resignation of the president
and a number of interim presidents that fo l­lowed,
social unrest and popular distaste for
politicians and bankers continues. A major
source of contention is the continuation of the
corraJito policy. (This policy, designed to shore
up the country's banking system, restricts with­drawals
from people's bank accounts.) Never­theless,
current president Eduardo Duhalde, a
member of the working-class oriented Peronist
party and by nature a populist, seems to be one
of the few politicians who has enough political
cred ibility with those opposed to the austerity
measures to enact the reforms the IMF is
demanding. Almost certainly, however, Du­halde
is bound to push through some populist
measures that would be detrimental to multi­national
corporations, such as his recent pro­posal
for new taxes of up to 20% on exports.
Duhalde has stated that he will only serve as
WWW.THUNDERBI RD . ED U
president for one year; who
will win, or even run, in the
2003 presidential elections
has yet to be determined. But
most large multinational
companies currently in
Argentina have a long-term
perspective and plan to stay
in for the long haul. A new
agreement with the Inter­national
Monetary Fund for
financial assistance, which
will indicate that the
government has estab­lished
a basis for macro­economic
reforms lead­ing
to eventual recovery,
will help begin the
process of restoring
investor confidence.
Venezuela. Since win­ning
election to the
presidency in 1998 on a
platform of populist and nationalist rhetoric,
Hugo Chavez has taken a number of actions
that have been detrimental to the business
environment of the country. Most sign ificantly,
he managed to push through a new constitu­tion
that centralized power in the presidency
and allowed him to run for re-election (he won
election again in 2000 for a six-year term),
something the previous constitution had not
permitted. Chavez has also installed his politi­cal
cronies in positions of influence in the gov­ernment.
He has done this in the military, to
the consternation of key military officials. He
also fired professional managers at Petr6leos de
Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), the state-owned oil
company, and replaced them with his political
allies. Even worse for Venezuela's economy,
however, has been Chavez's expensive, badly
managed social programs. These programs are
popular and boost Chavez's political prospects,
but have done nothing to solve the underlying
economic problems of the 70 percent of the
country's population living in poverty.
Such actions, among others, were what led to
the short-lived and ultimately unsuccessful
"coup" in April 2002. The coup was overturned
within 48 hours because of the tremendous
p . 1 3
outpouring of support Chavez received from
the masses of the people, who like his populist
programs and admire what he has done to
challenge the position of corrupt traditional
politicians. However, it is unlikely that Chavez
will be able to maintain this support for long.
Additionally, the continuing exodus of educat­ed
middle class people to safer, more hos­pitable
countries will only worsen the lo ng­term
economic situation in the country.
Despite the enormous potential of Venezuela,
international managers might want to wait
until there is a change in government before
entering this market.
NORTH AMERICA
PROF. LINDA WITZEL
So, you want to expand your business into
North America. Or make an investment there.
Great. Mexico's now under a president who
wants to make his economy look like that of
the U.S. (He used to work for Coca-Cola, after
all). Canada already acts a lot like the U.S. -
only it's even friendlier to foreigners And the
U.S.? It's the biggest, richest, most risk-free mar­ket
in the world.
Right?
Wrong. And, in some ways, right.
North America beckons the international
business manager like the fabled Promised
Land. Milk and honey in abundance. But for a
price. And only with careful planning.
Canada and the U.S. are among the world's
most successful economies. Passionately capi­talist
in spirit, the two political systems
nonetheless provide insurance for "level play­ing
fields" in their economies (anti-trust legis­lation)
and in their societies (anti-discrimina­tion
regulations).
Their markets are, in principle and generally
in truth, open to all who have the ingenuity
and energy to woo and win their affluent con­sumers.
The North American Free Trade Agree­ment
(NAFTA) has dismantled most of the
trade firewalls between Canada and the U.S.,
adding to their allure.
Mexico continues its painful trek away from
its protectionist past, and the world has
noticed. Most of the long-state-owned "com­manding
heights" of the Mexican economy are
p. 1 4
increasingly up for grabs (the oil company),
and President Fox is shrewdly marketing his
country to the European Union and to South
America, not only as an enormous potential
source of skilled labor and consumption, but
also as a gateway to NAFfA.
But the Promised Land is not without its
bogs and thickets.
To foreign investors, the U.S. can be a
chameleon. The U.S. government trumpets its
free trade gospel, then it imposes tariffs on
imported steel and subsidizes farmers.
American culture celebrates success but the
Justice Department prosecutes Microsoft -
because it's "predatory," or too successful. A
"nation of immigrants," the U.S. seems to tweak
its immigration policies arbitrarily. And its Iiti-
WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU
giousness: for goodness sake, fast-food fran­chisee,
don't sell that coffee hot!
What does a foreign executive make of
Canada? Since September 11, some of Canada's
vaunted openness appears to have been sacri­ficed
to U.S. security concerns. Fierce Canadian
patriotism aside, just how independent of
Washington is Ottawa? Besides, some say,
Canada can't decide whether it's one country or
three (Quebec, The Maverick West, the rest).
And if NAFfA's so terrific, why can't Canadian
lumber companies sell freely in the U.S.?
While foreign investors cheer Mexico's
reform-minded Fox, many are reserving judg­ment.
Old corporatist habits die hard, and Fox
has powerful opponents in the entrenched
political and corporate elite. Mexico, too,
55/1/2002
chafes under NAFfA: Mexican truckers cannot
yet travel beyond the U.S. border.
Other risks abound in North America:
• Risks to personal security that September
11 has exposed. It's unlikely that American soci­ety
will soon resemble ever-vigilant [srael's, but
the "age of innocence" is gone.
• Post-Enron/Andersen risks to traditional
business practices. Facing ever more intrusive
scrutiny, companies must review their standard
operating procedures and "behave."
• Risks posed by the encroachment on
nation-specific laws and regulations of global
norms. Washington's refusal to join the Inter­national
Criminal Court, for example, is prob­ably
only a modern-day Canute's resistance to a
similarly unstoppable tide.
For all the risks, North America presents
seemingly unlimited business opportunities,
among them:
• A gamut of personal-security technologies,
from the highest (airport security portal that
obviates one's having to remove one's shoes) to
the lowest (trained dogs that are proven to be
nearly 100% successful in detecting plastic
explosives and other threats - while also
soothing nervous, pet-loving Americans).
• More imaginative risk-management strate­gies.
The New York Times reported that CSO
(chief security officer) positions are proliferat­ing.
But are these CSOs employing the most
advanced intelligence methodologies and prac­tices?
• Businesses targeting aging North Ameri­cans.
Before September, many Boomers could
be seduced by any product or service offering
endless youth. Now, savvy businesses augment
such offerings with those, SUd1 as early estate­planning
software, which is more reflective of
our ineluctable mortality.
Opportunities and risks can be either real or
imaginary. [n the "Regional Business Environ­ment
- North America" course, we deal with
reality (to the extent we can know it), percep­tion,
and perception-as-reality. Operating or
investing in North America is not. as they say,
for the faint-hearted. But for those who accept
North Americans' ethos of change, focus on the
future, and questioning authority, milk and
honey do await. _
Looking for Business Leaders
with Global Experience?
International
Executive Search
• • • • •
•
•
www.oakbridge-global.com
info@oakbridge-global.com
U.S.A.
Denver: 1.303.670.0788
JAPAN
Tokyo: 81.3.5472.7079
Osaka: 81.6.6441.2581
EUROPE
London: 44.20.7877.0428
p. I G WWW.THUNDERBIRD . EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
PROFESSIONAL
CONSULTING
Thunderbird offers "big league" consulting program.
BY STEPHEN FRAIL '02
The trimester had ended, but work continued frantically in Thunderbird's World
Business conference rooms. That's where consulting teams from the Thunderbird
Corporate Consulting Program (TCCP) were preparing for client visits. • The two
weeks after each trimester ends are always hectic for students, faculty and TCCP staff, as a
trimester's worth of research and analysis gets distilled into targeted client presentations.
For more than seven years, TCCP has quietly operated as a profes­sional
consulting firm under the direction of Dr. Mudhal Krishna­Kumar,
a professor of World Business, providing high quaJity services,
and delivering 103 projects to clients while steadily growing in size and
revenues. Specially chosen project teams, each with six to 10 Thunder­bird
students, officially called associates, serve as front-line consultants,
conducting the research and preparing key deliverables.
Each trimester, the TCCP, which has its own budget, accepts three to
eight consulting cases from clients who pay just a fraction of the amount
they would pay to competing consulting companies for those projects.
Although the types of clients and consulting projects vary each trimester,
TCCP has completed business development strategy, market entry strat­egy,
product development, business process mapping, acquisition and
joint venture valuations, and tactical plan analysis for Fortune 500 com­panies
such as Citibank, IBM, johnson &. johnson, Bayer, AlG, General
Motors, GE Capital, and EDS, as well as for smaller firms.
It has also helped governments develop strategies to attract overseas
investment. A year ago, TCCP consulted for the International Private
Capital Task Force, advising the prime minister of Ukraine and develop­ing
a sensitivity model. TCCP has also recently consulted for the govern­ment
of Poland, developing a benchmarking model of best practices on
border management to prepare Poland for its European Union entrance.
While clients can obtain much of what TCCP offers through tradition­al
consulting firms, many ofTCCP's clients keep coming back because of
the program's uniqueness. Most obviously, the price forTCCP's services is
far below what is charged by competing consulting companies, and yet
clients consistently rate the quality of the work quite high.
Richard Puricelli, chairman of JAC Products, Inc., was so pleased with
the results of his first project that he hired TCCP for a second one. "Dr.
Kumar, his assistants, and students were outstanding," Puricelli said.
"Results were very helpful for our company's extension into South
America. Another project followed about two years later. This time our
focus was in Asia and again we were very satisfied and pleased."
Of the more than 80 companies served by TCCP over the past five
years, more than a third have been repeat customers, while almost half
of all projects have been for repeat clients.
Another significant difference between TCCP and traditional consult­ing
firms is that all TCCP projects must begin and end in four-month
cycles coinciding with Thunderbird's trimester system. While this con­straint
limits TCCP's ability to take on longer or larger scope projects,
Kumar insists it is also a selling factor.
"Managers at client companies like the fact that they can have the
answers to their most pressing business problems in just four months."
Perhaps the most valuable characteristic ofTCCP, at least in the eyes
of past and current clients, is the global network attached to the project.
Having completed consulting projects in over 45 countries, TCCP boasts
international experience few small consulting companies can match.
Thunderbird's alumni network, over 33,000 strong and distributed glob­ally,
gives clients access to insight and key contacts that would take years
to develop otherwise. Finally, associates are recruited from ThunderbiTd's
diverse student body and specifically matched to projects for which they
have relevant country, market and/or industry expertise.
Luke Ford '96 (EMIM), director, Strategic Sales at EDS Corporation's
Solutions Consulting, who has used TCCP's services several times said,
"( have worked with the Thunderbird Corporate Consulting Program on
previous occasions while with another technology company and now
with EDS. The professional level of work and the analytical depth of
decision and risk analysis is what made me recommend them to my
company again. I was happy to see the students at my alma mater get­ting
the opportunity to learn real-life corporate consulting as a part of
their course work."
Shawn McCarthy '99, a manager at PWC Consulting's Strategic Change
Solutions in Moscow, who himself was a consulting program associate,
summed up Thunderbird's competitive advantage in professional servic­es:
"Although other business schools might offer client consulting servic­es,
Thunderbird is able to consistently provide teams that can manage a
vast array of issues arising in a vaTiety of industries on a global basis. To
my knowledge, no other school is in a position to consistently field teams
to meet the needs of global corporations. For these reasons, TCCP is
unique and continues to differentiate Thunderbird from the ranks of
other elite business schools."
TCCP staff members bid each project, chart out the scope of work,
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU p. I 7
p. 1 8 WWW.THUNDERBIRD .E DU 55/1/2002
Where can you quickly learn
everythlna you need to
know about a country's
culture, demographics. consumption
patterns, potential competitors or
partners, import/export laws and
other data? 'The quickest. most c0mpre­hensive
and least expensive option is
probably thunderbird's Business
Information Services (BIS) center.
Thunderbird has quietly amassed one
of the most compreheIlSive full-text
global business databases In the world
today. Available free to faculty and
students, that Incredibly valuable
resource can also be accessed by
alllTV'll and the public for a small fee.
Simply tell a BlS research expert what
you need and sIhe can rapidly pull up
all available data and send it to you via
email or other mail
Cost is just $75 per hour for al\.IMl
and $85 per hour for non-alumnl.
Recent projects have ranged from
S300 for simple country, company or
business research to up to $3,000 for
the most complex and comprehensive
intelligence.
Recent projects have involved:
• Business and competitive intelli­gence
on companies and industries
• Census and multi-level demographic
data
• Advertisina and marketing strategy
research for product launches
• DistrIbution chamel and c0nsump­tion
pattern analysis
"There is no 'typical' project,· said
Patricia Watkins, BIS researcher who
will design and conduct custom, In­depth
searches for any client. "The BIS
mission statement is 'If it's out there,
we'll find itl'"
Thunderbird's Business Information
Services unit quickly provides
comprehensive market and c0m­petitive
data so companies can
plan successful product launch,
partnership and other strategies.
Watkins brings nearly 20 years of
primary market research to 1hunder­bird.
She can be reached by telephone
at (602) 978-7236 or by email at
watldaw;Att bird ecIu
articulate principal deliverables to clients and develop the appropriate
analytical model to be used with each project. That model maps and
quantifies the project's principle drivers. TCCP also uses a sophisticated
decision and risk analysis tool to run sensitivity analysis, create risk pro·
files on potential strategies and examine the probability of enhancing or
destroying shareholder value with each recommended strategy.
Student associates do most of the heavy project work, spending long
hours in Thunderbird's International Business Information Center
(IBiC) performing secondary research on the library's many databases.
Those associates later develop a primary research plan with the TCCP
project managers, then fan out into the field to meet with clients, cus­tomers,
competitors and employees.
Students who participate in the consulting program as associates do
so for a variety of reasons, but most are seeking practical consulting
experience to help them break into the field once they graduate. The pro­gram
is also a way for students to bring together and apply all the vari­ous
skills they've learned at Thunderbird. Said McCarthy, "Though each
project is unique, students are called on to leverage their collective glob­al
and academic experiences to analyze an issue and recommend a series
of options designed to depict the effect of management decisions to be
made in the near future."
Marketing, benchmarking, competitive intelligence and analysis,
finance, operations, supply chain management, acquisition strategies
and valuation - all are required to deliver a comprehensive report that
addresses the needs of each TCCP client.
Many Thunderbird graduates have found that their participation in
the consulting program has helped them later on in their careers.
Mehmet Munzur '00, a former TCCP associate and now an associate
with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, thinks his time in the program
helped him land his job. "During my interviews, I received more ques­tions
about my experience with corporate consulting than about all of
my other professional experiences. In addition to multiple job offers, my
experience helped me develop a new and a better way of dealing with
complex business problems," explained Munzur.
McCarthy believes that what he learned in the program has made him
a much more effective manager. 'The task we faced as part of the TCCP
was so specific, so far outside my comfort zone, I wasn't quite sure where
to start. TCCP helped structure an evaluation process to break down
'overwhelming' problems into manageable work streams possessing
clearly defined mileposts. To this day, our project serves as a personal
benchmark for what is possible and for what can be achieved."
Kumar gives his student associates much of the credit for the success
of the program. "Students who join the corporate consulting project
can't be, and aren't, concerned with grades. They can't, and don't, settle
for a B or a B+. Client satisfaction is everything."
Because student associates move on after each trimester, brain drain is
a fact of life for Kumar and his assistants. However, Kumar likes to think
that when his students graduate, he isn't so much losing an associate as
he is gaining another alumni champion for the consulting program.
"We don't do much marketing," said Kumar. "We rely heavily on our
alumni base, many of whom are in a position to influence senior man­agement,
to bring their consulting business to us."
Kumar is continually working to grow the consulting program. He can
be reached at (602) 978-7193 or at kumark@t-bird.edu. •
p.19 WWW.T HUNDERBIRD .E DU 55/1/2002
M&AS FROM TEN PERSPECTIVES
Unique Mergers & Acquisitions course examines
M&As with 10 faculty experts
You're with a German
company whose
expansion into Latin
America necessitates finding
a local partner with strong
manufacturing and distribu­tion
ties. You locate a fami­ly-
owned Chilean entity
that seems to suit your
needs. After your finance
folks finish perusing its
financial facts, they recom­mend
initiating acquisition
talks.
But will this acquisition
ultimately succeed or fail?
That is, can you truly bring
it to fruition and, if so, will
it really help you achieve
your financial goals and
strategy?
"Nearly 80 percent of all
mergers fail to add shareholder value,
oftentimes because the accounting and
finance people leading them fail to recog­nize
the complexity of integration issues,"
said Dr. Phil Drake, assistant professor of
accounting at Thunderbird. "Our course
teaches managers the strategic, integration,
negotiation, financial, legal, tax and cultur­al
skills they need to analyze then imple­ment
a deal successfully."
Called Mergers & Acquisitions: A Multi­Discip
linary Approach, Drake's unique
three-week, fu ll-time program teaches man­agers
how to analyze a potential merger or
acquisition from ten critical angles. The
course objective: Show students how to
think about mergers & acquisitions and
analysis completely, moving critical post­merger
issues up front in the discussion
process to ultimately ensure that millions of
dollars and thousands of people's liveli ­hoods
aren't needlessly threatened.
To achieve that goal, Drake leveraged the
unique integrated nature of Thunderbird -
which combines global business, culture
and language within each course - to
assemble an all-star lineup of professors
who each teach their subject of expertise.
BY LINDSEY MICHAELS
In Thunderbird's M&A course, student teams
must ultimately assume the roles of real-life
M&A participants, then attempt to negotiate
the deal in character. They must also write
up and defend their M&A positions before a
faculty "Board" panel.
• Dr. Kannan Ramaswamy: strategy
• Dr. Caren Siehl: cross-cultural and
merger integration issues
• Dr. John O'Connell: risk management
• Prof. Bob Tancer: statutory framework
• Dr. Rich Ettenson: brand management
• Dr. Dale Davidson: tax
• Prof. Paul Kinsinger: business
intelligence
• Dr. Phil Drake: accounting
• Dr. Mark Griffiths: corporate valuation
• Dr. Karen Walch: negotiation.
These topics are taught during the first
two weeks through an integrated set of lec­tures,
case studies and exercises. Geared to
students of all specializations, Drake's pro­gram
ends with students assuming the roles
of those involved in the real GlaxoWell­come/
SmithKlein Beecham mega-merger.
Students break into teams of four or five and
spend a full and grueling
week trying to negotiate the
deal in character. Each
team's "fi nal exam" involves
defending its comprehensive
written merger analysis,
actions and strategy to a pro­fessor
panel - which ques­tions
everything a company's
Board of Directors would.
"Our students admit to
fee ling absolutely over­whelmed
throughout this
course," Drake said. "Besides
the coursework, they have to
learn everything they can
about the pharmaceutical
industry, then bring all the
major elements of business
together to form a compre­hensive
merger plan. We're
talking about projected post­merger
numbers, the structure of the new
management team and Board, which brands
and people to retain, where to locate plants
and offices, how to integrate technologies
and how to get people in both companies to
get along."
Mergers and acqu isitions have become an
increasingly significant part of the global
economy as companies have turned to
them to address market entry and economy­of-
scale issues. I n fact, statistics show that
M&A activity rose from US$250 billion in
1990 to US$3.5 trillion during 2000. As a
result, many managers are now tasked with
directing MMs.
"The MM interim was one of the best
academic experiences I had at Thunder­bird,"
explained Christopher Thiele '02,
who works for ING Americas. "The combi­nation
of multiple faculty teaching to their
strength while blending their expertise with
a group of highly motivated, insightful stu­dents
resulted in the best that Thunderbird
had to offer. Phil Drake did an exemplary
job of not only providing a challenging
environment but of also ensuring that we
had all the possible support to push our­selves
as far as we could go." •
p. 2 0 WWW.THUNDERBIRD .E DU 55/1/2002
AN AMERICAN IN CUBA
Looking inside a "restricted" land
BY BRlTA MOELLER '02
The flight from Miami to Havana was short and from above Cuba
appears green, lush and devoid of freeways, a land edged by
white sand beaches. Exiting the airplane you felt the air, heavy
with humidity, laced with diesel and a hint of tobacco. Visions of
cigars and men dad in guayabera shirts came to mind. Then you real ­ized
that you were surrounded by men wearing guayaberas, toting
cigars and large suitcases, as well as by women pushing overstuffed
duffel bags full of U.S. purchases. Toilet paper, bouquets of plastic
flowers, and pink hair-curlers seemed their most popular items.
We all waited together in the cigar-smoke haze to pass through
immigration. I asked to get my passport stamped, as I was an American
student on a "cultural visit" to a country the U.S. restricts visits to.
Once in Cuba, I realized rather quickly that I was not an American,
but someone from "the North," the United States. From an American
perspective, there is a generation-long economic and political "embar­go"
between the U.S. and Cuba. Fidel Castro and the Cuban people
term it a "blockade." We were fortunate to be in Cuba during the same
time as former President Carter and his entourage and we planned to
watch the week's events unfold with anticipation. No current or former
U.S. president had visited Cuba since 1959 and so we wondered if the
Carter/Castro meetings would influence policies in either direction,
either tightening or loosening economic restrictions.
With its colonial history as a crossroads for Spanish galleons and
trade ships, it seemed strange to think that Cuba is today relatively iso­lated
and growing more so as its major trading partners, the former
Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, address their own issues. Yet,
I believe even a Cuba without Castro would seem wary of outside
political influences due to its history of Spanish colonial domination,
British takeovers and U.S. military interventions.
Cuba and its people retain a proud and independent spirit.
Leaving the airport, we passed through hordes of people waiting for
returning family members; leaving the island is a definite "event."
Walking into the airport's parking lot, full of 1950s cars, acted like a
time machine, shooting me back to the pre-Castro era when the U.S.
played an influential role in Cuba's economy and political develop­ment.
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERB1RD.EDU p.21
Today, Castro detests and claims to fight "U .S. cultural imperialism,"
therefore, Havana was visibly vacant of modem U.S. super brands,
such as McDonalds and Hollywood movies. That gave me an eerie, yet
somewhat pleasant feeling of stepping back in time.
We passed many billboards on our way into Havana, mostly cele­brating
the Revolution and the accomplishments of Che Guevara and
Fidel. Several depicted an "anti-imperialist" sentiment, such as the one
reading "Yankee Imperialist Go Home." None of those billboards
advertised specific products or brands.
Along the streets we saw people of all ages standing in groups, either
waiting for buses or friends. Others rode bicycles, which sometimes
carried a whole family, rickshaws, or motorcycles with sidecars.
Alternatively, lada taxis, which resemble little yellow bubbles, could
take you to your hotel if you didn't have too much luggage. You could
also tour the city in a romantic horse and buggy.
Although Cuba was somewhat what I expected, it was also not what
I expected. The 16th and 17th century colonial architecture of Havana
was astonishing, pervasive, and every view offered an eyeful of visual
stimuli. My most unexpected discovery in
Havana was the sound, a constant hum of
people speaking island Spanish mixed with
the rattle of old car engines and a bit of
"son" jazz from the comer cafe. Walking
down the cobblestone streets, I felt like a
bass note in a song from Buena Vista Social
Club.
We stayed at Hotel Telegrafico, a beauti­ful
work of restoration situated on Central
Park Square, next to the Capitolio
Nacional, which is topped by a dome just
like the U.S. Capitol building in Washing-ton,
D.C. Much of Havana is dilapidated. However, there is an intense
restoration effort that sped up once Havana was declared a protected
World Heritage site. Today you find gorgeous restored colonial mas­terpieces
next to decrepit, ramshackle structures housing multiple
families. The dichotomy was so overwhelming it left me speechless
for two days.
By the third day my awe and fascination with Havana began to fade
amid the sight of so much poverty and so few hygienic necessities,
such as soap and toilet paper. The colonial mansions seemed like
ghosts of past glory, their crumbling wrought-iron balconies a symbol
of the failed ideology behind the former iron curtain. Get invited to a
Cuban dinner party and you bring a bottle of cooking oil, for it is more
valued than wine. By trip's end, my feelings had become more bal­anced
and I could again see beauty in the surroundings and hear joy
in the daily hum of Cuban life.
The diversity of Cuba's population, the Afro-Cuban Santeria rituals,
the music of son, the dance style of salsa, rumba, and mambo all run
deeper in Cuban history than its current political leadership.
Even though Cuba is an island with limit­ed
resources, certain types of food are plenti ­ful.
For example, the government makes sure
that everyone has enough ham, cheese,
bread, coffee, red snapper and sugar. State­run
restaurants often included menus offer­ing
limited sandwich choices. Would you
like ham and cheese, or cheese and ham?
Pizza might be listed on the menu, but they
happened to be "out of it that day."
We found that the best places to eat are
called "paladars," private restaurants run out
of people's homes that not only offer more
p. 2 2 WWW.THUNDERBJRD . EDU 55 / 1/2002
selection and better quality, but also a touch of elegance and flair.
From appetizers and wine to desert and coffee, a full gourmet meal
could cost US$2S. A bargain, unless you're a Cuban with an average
monthly salary of US$lS.
I found these paladars to be successful examples of free market
dynamics operating in a controlled economy. When Castro was forced
to make economically-related internal policy changes in 1994, he
instituted the "spedal period," which allows certain businesses, such
as paladars, to be "self sufficient" for a "limited time." Such business­es
could not even exist in Cuba prior to seven years ago.
Paladars send their staffs out to scour the city's markets for the fresh­est
available ingredients each day, and then adjust their menus accord­ingly.
We ate in several and they were all outstanding.
While in the Old Quarter, quench your thirst with a mojito at the
quaint bar on the roof of the Ambose Mundos, the hotel where Ernest
Hemmingway stayed in the 1930s while writing "For Whom the Bell
Tolls." Hemmingway later moved to a beautiful house, Finca la Vigia,
in San Francisco de Paula, that is now the Hemmingway Museum.
Some other important notes:
With all due respect to American Express' "Don't leave home with­out"
and Visa's "It's everywhere you want it to be" campaigns; you have
to bring cold hard cash to Cuba. Credit cards from U.S. banks are sim­ply
not accepted, anywhere.
The Hotel Nacional will change traveler's cheques for you, if need­ed.
You must also bring soap, shampoo, and drugstore items. In talk­ing
with hotel staff, we learned that most Cuban people need vitamins
and nutritional supplements, espedally for children, as well as over­the-
counter painkillers such as Advil or Tylenol. They also need shoes
and dothing. I'd suggest you plan on leaving what you don't use for
the housekeepers. We had barely checked out of our rooms when two
women from housekeeping descended upon them to gather up the
precious items we had left for them. _
Organized by D,: Cannen Vega-Carney, who regularly takes Thunderbird
students to Cuba for language and culture training, the weeklong program
Moeller attended was the first in a series of short, in-country cultural pro­grams
Thunderbird is developing for alumni, students and others.
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.THUNO ERBIRO .EOU
Customers Inspect peppers and other produce from • vendor. (photo by Michael Norton)
MUSEUMS NOT TO BE MISSED
MUSEO DE LA REVOlUCt6N
excellent
MUSEO DE SAN SALVADOR DE LA PUNTA
see Spanish ships and bullion
MUSEO NAClONAL PALACIO DE BEl.1AS ARTES
Cuba's fine art collection
NIGHTCLUBS
LA ZORRA Y EL CUERVO
excellent Cuban Jazz dub
Calle 23, between N and 0
vedado
Tel: 662402
PLACES FOR DRINKS
HOTEL AM80SE MUNDOS
(where Hen1minpay stayed in the 19305)
Obispo No. 153. at comer of Mefaderes
Tel: 60-9529
LA BODEGUITA DEL MmlO
(Hemminpay's favorite mojltos)
La Habana Vleja
EL fLORJDITA
(Hemmlnpay's favorite daiquiris)
Obispo No 557 at Ave Beligica
LA CASA DE CAFE
(nice place for coffee next to Hotel Santa Isabel)
On East side of Plaza de Annas
CULTURAL THINGS TO DO
LAMAQUETA
detailed model of Havana City
La Hahana Viej.
FlNCA LA VlGIA
See Hemmlngway's residence & fishing boat
San Francisco de Paula
RESTAURANTS (PALADARS)
LAGUARIDA
(Where Fresa y Chocotate (Strawberries and
CbocoIate) was filmed)
Concordia 418, between Gervasio and Escobar
Centro Habana
Tel: (53 7) 62 .... 940
VISTAMAR
(beautiful view. right on the ocean. excellent
seafood)
Avenida1~. between22anc124
No. 2206 - Miramar
Tel: 23-8328
LE CHANSONNIER
(French influenced)
Calle J. No. 257. between 15 and Unea
Veradado
Tel: 12-1576
EL HURON AZUL
(elegant dining. friendly waiters give you roses
and cigars)
Hwnboldt No 153. between Calle 0 and P
Malecon
Tel: 79-1691
LA ESPERANZA
Calle 16.105
between 1 and 3
Miramar
Tel: (53 7) 22 .... 361
LA COCINA DE UWAN
Calle 48. 1311
between 13 and 15
Miramar
Tel: 29-6514
p. 2 3
p. 2 4 WWW.TI-IUND ERBIRD . EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
ast Chrisunas Eve, I received a call from my friend Luby
Ismail. an Egyptian-American, who asked if I would go
with her to my homeland - a land I'd left in 1978 at
the age of eight. A land I hadn't returned to since.
For as long as I can remember, I was the last person on the planet who
wanted to go back to Iran. I guess my problem was that Iran had been
such a closed door for me for so long that I couldn't possibly consider
the notion of unlocking it.
For the past 25 years, I've found it difficult to declare my place of birth
or answer the simple question, "Where are you from?" That's because I
grew up in an America where Iran was the "evil enemy." We adapt to our
environment for survival and so I came to subconsciously view myself as
an offspring of that evil enemy. Eventually, I put my heritage behind me
in order to move forward. Unfortunately, for me, the impact was one of
negative prejudice against my own people, culture, and country. Of
spending 25 years of growing up without looking back - then sudden­ly
having the gateway to my past offered to me by someone outside my
immediate family.
March 22 was the longest night of my entire life. The flight from
London to Tehran was five and a half hours, and without exaggeration,
I wept uncontrollably for the duration of that flight. I really can't say it
was anyone particular thought or emotion that brought on the tears.
Something about flying through that mesmerizing starry night and hav­ing
nature sounds gently making their way into my senses through the
airline headphones made me feel truly at one with the universe.
Profound thoughts of God's will and life's travels and the goodness of
people swelled inside me. Thoughts of my childhood journey out of I ran
mixed with the harsh reality that a revolution stole my childhood and
the opportunity to grow up with my extended family and my people. At
the same time I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude toward my
parents for sacrificing the world they had built for themselves in Iran to
bring me to higher ground in America. I let all those feelings sweep me
away, and for the first time in my life I allowed myself to grieve my loss
of country, my self-denial of origin, and my C1uel bias against my own
people. It was the most cleansing and peaceful state of mind, body and
soul I have ever experienced.
Arrival in Tehran was breathtakingly beautiful. By that time the tears
had subsided, my head was rushing at the thought of being in the arms
of my uncles, aunts and cousins. The Alborz Mountains were proudly
guarding the city from one side and what seemed like an endless mass
of buildings and freeway systems carpeted the other. Flying across the
width of the metropolitan area reminded me of tlle flight pattern into
Mexico City. Witl1 a 15 million daytime population and a nine million
evening one, Tehran seemed more spread out than I remembered.
I had really worried about how the Iranian passport control and cus­toms
officers would treat and react to me, but because I was returning
after such a long absence, I feel they made a point of being nice.
My family reunion at the airport was quite emotional. At the first sight
of my uncle's face, I shed many, many more tears of joy. During those
initial embraces with my cousins, aunts, and uncles, I forgot everything
about my past and simply experienced a deep healing. People around
our little group were even touched by our emotions. Apparently, out­ward
display of emotions - hugging. kissing. smiling. dancing in pub­lic
- is not within the conduct rules of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
TOP ROW The writer's friend, Luby. finds Harry Potter books written in Farsi.
Samira at an Internet cafe. Rows of global brands. Time alone with family.
RIGHT The Zagros mountains south and west of Tehran. Iran.
HOME
A hesitant journey oao~~
55/1/2002 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU p. 2 5
·0 IRAN
Seeing me express myself openly, made the onlookers feel good that
someone could express themselves in a way they only wished they could.
Happily, that ability of self-expression was perhaps the single most
visible point of distinction between me and the people I encountered
throughout my trip.
Although, in some ways, I looked like the conservative.
Young women I saw had make-up on, had their hair showing from
under their headdresses, wore bright-red nail polish and open-toed
shoes and open necked shirts. Guys wore hair gel. Guys and gals wore
tight-fitting clothes. There was even techno music blasting from a
rollerblade rink in a city park.
I kept thinking, "Hello, is this Jran?"
Don't get me wrong. Life in Iran is definitely still under Islamic occu­pation.
That was evident from the mosques that now line nearly every
other street and ladies in their headdress or full "chador." But outside of
those external symbols, there are five- and six-story indoor shopping
malls with everything from Nike to Macy's to cheeseburgers to country
fried chicken to Farsi-translated Harry Potter books to the latest Holly­wood
movies on DVD and Kellogg's Corn Flakes.
All those things indicated that, to the general public, there was not a
heck of a lot of anything pro-Islamic Republic and anti-American going
on. In fact, 1 perceived the opposite.
Just as in many other parts of the world, the largest segment of the
consumer market in Iran is the youth and with 65 percent being 25 years
and younger, anything hip-hop and American is definitely in.
The only problem is the roughly 20 percent unemployment and the
great disparity between highly inflated prices and people's relatively low
income-earning potential. The gap between the upper and the lower
class has widened with the flight of nearly the entire middle class. For us,
going to Iran is a fantastic shopping opportunity with US$l roughly
equal to 800 tomans. Unfortunately, the U.S. embargo on Iranian prod­ucts
means we can't bring back anything. But for the folks living there
who earn on average $1l2-$150/month (90,000 - 120,000 tomans), a
$10 DVD is a luxury item. Yet, almost every young boy wore Nikes, while
young ladies wore Lee Jeans. Both genders seemed to have just about
every European designer's accessory imaginable.
When the day came for Luby and me to be taken to my childhood
home in Amiraabad, I was both nervous and excited. Our house was still
green on the outside, but the years had not been kind to it. I was disap­pointed
to find it in that state, but also relieved that our building was
still there, since because of renovation projects, many of the older build­ings
in that neighborhood had been demolished. We rang, and a woman
- although initially quite hesitant - let me in to see the interior of her
place and the backyard courtyard. Amazingly, I felt as if I had always
been there, and although the furniture and interior features were foreign
to me, the physical structure was definitely "home."
Obviously, there are plenty of wonderful memories to share with you
when we have the chance to speak. In the meantime, know that I found
no evil in Iran, only family, a sense of healing, and the rediscovery of a
heritage I'd denied myself for a quarter century.
~ This trip was the best thing I have ever done for myself. Taking that
~ leap into the unknown and facing my fears head-on was difficult, but it
CII B was worth everything. I only wish each of you would take the opportu-
.~.u. nity to go back to something or someplace in your past that you've shut
UJ out of your life. You may find much peace and healing there.
~ Would I ever consider living in Iran again? Sorry. No. Home is right
~ here in the U.S. But you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be going back to
~ revisit my family and rediscover the rest of the beauty and riches of my
~ culture, people, and birth country.
@) Anyone want to tag along? •
p . 2 6 WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
55 / 1 / 2002
I finished my studies in France after my five-year
degree in mechanical engineering and some good
personal experiences in South America and in
Switzerland with a strong desire to move my profes-sional
life toward international business. For that, I
needed a degree that would validate and support my
choice. That is why I applied to a specialized masters
degree program in strategy and international business
at ESSEC Business School.
Why did I choose this school? First because it is a
highly rated "grande ecole" located in Cergy, France.
Second, because its slogan, "act­ing
first," fits me. But I also chose
ESSEC because its program
included an exchange program
with the number one business
school in international manage­ment:
Thunderbird.
That is how I and 18 other
ESSEC students found ourselves
last January in one of the more
pleasant and warmest places a
European can hope to spend the
winter: Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
While some schools have dual degree and other
types of exchange agreements with Thunderbird, the
ESSEC(fhunderbird program was developed around
Thunderbird's Certificate of Advanced Studies in Inter­national
Management program. It is a IS-credit pro­gram
during which we took five specific courses: nego­tiation
and communication in a multicultural world,
international political economy, international finance
and trad e, regional business environment: North
America and global strategy.
All brought the international side of economics,
business and management to light in a way that only
Thunderbird can do, taking classes beyond the theo­retical:
with 60 nationalities and a mix of more than
60 percent foreigners in every class. You may think you
can have such multinational experiences everywhere,
but then you start your negotiation workshop exercise
with one Colombian, one Japanese, one American
and one German. That's when you really start to
understand what "international" means, and how this
School can give you this intercultural awareness and
compulsory skills you need to evolve into a real inter­national
manager.
But this is only one side of the multicultural experi­ence.
I soon realized that you also learn a lot about a
culture and its people by spending time with them
around a couple of beers at the Thunderbird Pub. This
is the first place you start to know people as "people."
Thursday night at the pub; I think I made them all ....
Looking back, it's where I learned the most about peo­ple
from other countries and where all those strangers
started to become my friends.
Then comes the clubs, where you can practice in
your favorite hobby with people from all over the
world. I had the chance to participate in many clubs,
such as volleyball, the choir and, of course, the club
des Francophones (French club). Almost every nation-
WWW.THUND ERBIRD .EDU
ality has its own club and each prepares a special night
where everyone is invited to share the food, the drink
and the music of th eir culture. I had the chance to
organize the French night with many of my fellow
countrymen and French lovers: French food, French
wine and music all night were the recipe. I remember
also the Latin night, where students did special salsa
dancing performances.
There is also the Global Sounds concert, a multicul­tural
concert where Thunderbird students perform
vocal and instrumental music and/or dances from
India, the United States,
Russia, Czech Republic and
many others for everybody.
These are strong moments
you do not forget.
I also had the opportunity
to travel within the U.S. while
at Thunderbird; the Grand
Canyon, Bryce Canyon,
Joshua Tree National Park
and other places are great
natural monuments to visit.
Las Vegas is also not that far,
but this can be risky for your bank account ....
Taking a nap at Coronado's beautiful beach in San
Diego, riding a horse in Monument Valley, or renting
a houseboat with other friends at Lake Powell are also
unforgettable moments.
But the most important thing I gained beside my
studies at Thunderbird were the meetings I had, meet­ings
with people from Argentina, Colombia, Ger­many,
the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, the Czech Repub­lic,
Hong Kong, Taiwan or Japan. These are people I
wHl not forget.
These people and I all graduate and join a strong
Thunderbird network of more than 33,000 alumni all
over the world. The School's My Thunderbird informa­tion
technology system is a strong tool that then helps
all alumni keep in touch, from everywhere.
These are just some of the reasons why Thunderbird
is not a School like the others.
My stay at Thunderbird also allowed me to meet
representatives of international companies during the
Internship Fair. This is actually how I found the paid
internship I am currently on with Abbott Laboratories
in Chicago. The companies that come to recruit at
Thunderbird are looking for students with interna­tional
backgrounds. They know they will find skilled
people there, people who are aware of the interna­tional
issues, people who can adapt to a global world
more easily than students at other schools.
So here I am. Working for an international pharma­ceutical
company, with people from India, Ireland, the
Netherlands and Colombia, to organize Abbott's glob­al
logistic network.
My goal is to stay in this kind of company, where I
will still be able to enrich my cultural background and
professional life, to adapt to different issues and to
really feel like what Thunderbird taught me to be: a
"citizen of the world." •
p. 2 7
THUNDERBIRD MAINTAINS
EXCHANGE AND/OR DUAL
DEGREE PROGRAMS WITH
THE FOLLOWING FOREIGN
SCHOOLS
• Australia: Bond University
• Brazil: Coppead/ UFRJ.
Rio de Janeiro
• Brazil: Universidade
de Sao Paulo
• Chile: Adolfo Ibanez
• Chile: Pontificia Universidad
Cat61ica de Chile
• Costa Rica: Instituto
Centroamericano de
Administraci6n de Empresas
(INCAE)
• Egypt: American University
in Cairo
• Finland: Helsinki School of
Economics
• France: Ecole Superieure
des Sciences Economiques
et Commerce (ESSEC)
• France: HEC
• France: Rouen Graduate
School of Management
(ESC)
• Germany: European
Business School (EBS)
• Germany: The Europa­Universitat
Viadrina.
Frankfurt an der Oder
• Mexico: ITESM (Instituto
Tecnol6gico y de Estudios
Superiores de Monterrey) in
Monterrey. or Mexico City
• Norway: Norwegian School
of Management
• South Korea:
Yonsei University
• Spain: Escuela Superior de
Administraci6n y Direcci6n
de Empresas (ESADE)
• Spain: Instituto Catolica de
Administraci6n y Direcci6n
de Empresas (ICADE)
p. 2 8 WWW.THUNDERBIRD.EDU 55 / 1/2002
ENTREPREN EU RSH I P
IN FOREIGN LANDS
It seems clear that the terms "Thunderbird"
and "entrepreneur" go together like the
terms "foreign" and "travel," or "cross"
and "cultural." The type of person tradi-tionally
drawn to Thunderbird just seems
entrepreneurial.
In fact, there are so many T-birds entrepre­neurs
that we decided to focus on those who set
up businesses in foreign lands.
First, there was the problem of definitions.
How do you define "foreign land?" What
makes a country your "home" country as
opposed to a "foreign" one? Being born there?
Living there? Something else? Almost everyone
has one place that feels like home; the differ­ence
is that for T-birds "that place" is often not
the country where they were born.
T-bird entrepreneurs from Wiesbaden to
Singapore, Scottsdale to Sao Paulo, all share a
common trait: no matter where they started
life, they now have a thorough understanding
of, or a love for, a country in which they now
contribute to the economy as a business owner.
For Charles LaFond '80, Vienna has always
been "home." laFond first visited Austria as a
high school junior; he knew he would be back.
After Thunderbird LaFond went back to
Vienna, married his Austrian girlfriend, and
started working for Berlitz. Two years later, frus­trated
with Berlitz's lack of business English
offerings, he quit and started his own company,
the Business Language Center, teaching only
business English to companies.
For laFond, Austria has never really been a
foreign country. Already well established in the
local business landscape, laFond's biggest bar­riers
had nothing to do with being an American
in Austria, but with running the numbers. He
said his accounting classes as Thunderbird
"helped me survive" and added wryly, "The two
most important things are: one, get a good tax
advisor and two, get a good lawyer. It may cost
you more in the short run, but it's worth it."
Nor has France ever really been a foreign
country to Tracy Harsvik '89, who grew up in
Los Angeles. Harsvik had always wanted to live
in Paris, and even went to Thunderbird with the
intention of getting a job in France. But fate
Why not go abroad?
By BEATRICE BERNESCUT '90
intervened and it wasn't until 1998 that Tracy
and her husband, Oystein Harsvik '89, finally
moved to France. Once they did, Harsvik was
perfectly at home in Paris and had no qualms
about setting up her own business, Painted
Art.com. Originally set up to sell art on the
Internet, the bulk of Painted Art.com's business
now involves taking visitors to explore the
"hidden side" of Paris, meeting artists in their
ateliers and selling art.
For Alex de Faria e Castro '90, born and
raised in Germany, it was Russia that beckoned.
He said he feels as though he has a "Russian
soul" and that it is this ability to understand the
Russian mentality that enables him to do busi­ness
there. Once he realized that the corporate
life was not for him, he set up a business dis­tributing
food products in Russia (at one point
importing 1,000 tons of chocolate a month).
As for Scot von Bergen '74, it was experience
rather than instinct. After graduation, von
Bergen, who is from California, went to Brazil
for the Barnes Group (a parts manufacturer).
He then established Point Enterprises, selling
and distributing agricultural chemicals and vet­erinary
products throughout South America.
Von Bergen said he wasn't nervous about start­ing
a business in Latin America because he
already had more than ten years' experience
there, and because he spoke Spanish and
Portuguese fluently and knew how to handle
the different business cultures.
As for those cultural barriers, most T-birds
said they didn't really see any "cultural barri­ers."
Different ways of doing business, yes.
Subtleties about individual cultures, yes. But
not barriers. The only "cultural barrier" T-birds
consistently mentioned was leaping into the
entrepreneurial culture.
And what does that culture consist of? Web­ster's
defines an entrepreneur as "one who
organizes and assumes the risk of a business or
enterprise." That in itself seems obvious, but
what makes someone go and take on the risk of
starting a business? What kind of personality is
required? And are entrepreneurs born, or made?
The answer to the last question, at least,
appears to be "yes." Many T-birds always knew
that they would one day work for themselves,
while others seized an opportunity.
For Merle Hinrichs '65, CEO of Global
Sources, it was serendipity. "A set of circum­stances
provided an opportunity. Does anyone
ever know if they're going to be an entrepre­neur?"
Global Sources started with one trade
magazine, Asian Sources, which helped western
companies source goods from Asian suppliers.
Hinrichs' company is now an online commu­nity
creating and facilitating global trade
between buyers and suppliers. Its annual rev­enues
exceed US$95.3 million.
Sanjyot Dunung '87 also seized an opportu­nity.
During the early nineties, Dunung realized
that the world was changing and that people
were enormously interested in Asia. Born in
Bombay, and having traveled extensively
throughout the whole region, Dunung dearly
understood that part of the world. So she
founded AcrossFrontiers. com, which provides
cross-cultural training and services.
Circumstances were also what spurred Evan
Hassiotis '74. Originally from Greece, Hassio­tis
spent the first part of his career as an inter­national
banker then took a job with Booz
Allen Hamilton in 1987. Transferred to Singa­pore,
he disagreed with his employer's market
strategy and so decided
to set up his own
Singapore- and Jakarta­based
consultancy.
Chris Fussner '82,
on the other hand,
always knew he wanted
to own his own compa­ny.
"It was the only way
to make real money,"
he said. Fussner started
out in California. But
"Do a lot oj
and be realistic
And
to pursue
he loved the Orient, and it wasn't long before
his employer transferred him first to Korea,
then to Singapore. Fussner eventually quit and
set up his own business distributing electronic
manufacturing equipment throughout Asia.
Manfred Kohrs '80 was also determined to
go out on his own. He spent a number of years
working around the world for NCH before
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.THUND ERB IR D .E DU p . 2 9
p. 3 0
returning home to South Africa in 1986. While
he enjoyed the corporate life, he wanted to do
something entrepreneurial. A reorganizing
exercise persuaded Kohrs to start his own busi­ness
selling and distributing synthetic leather
products in Zimbabwe.
Regardless of how people become entrepre­neurs,
they seem to share several personality
traits, the most prominent of which is passion.
Passion clearly was the spur for George
Bradbury '99. Bradbury's career began in real
estate development. At the same time, he com­bined
his passion for horses (George breeds
Friesians) with his misting business and devel­oped
a misting system that protected horses
from the high heat and humidity of the Atlanta
Olympic Games.
Sherry Cameron '87 also talked about pas­sion.
Cameron moved to Singapore more than
nine years ago to work with a telecom compa­ny.
Soon, she and her business partner were
offering relocation assistance to expats moving
to Singapore. But while she enjoyed that busi­ness,
she wanted to do something she was pas­sionate
about, so she started importing and
exporting food products to Southeast Asia. That
business continues to grow, and she is current­ly
considering entering the Australian market.
Another shared T-bird trait is creativity. One
good idea seems to generate another, and T­bird
entrepreneurs often seem to leap from one
business into the next and the next. Bradbury
went from real estate to horse breeding and is
now exporting stone from China. De Faria e
Castro diversified into commercial real estate
development in Germany and in the u.S.
Kohrs, along with his brother and sister-in-law,
started a family business, the White Elephant
Lodge game reserve, near Durban.
Fussner, too, diversified. While vacationing in
Switzerland one summer, he was approached by
the owner of a prestigious vineyard about the
possibility of wholesaling wines. He now
imports Swiss and Italian wines into Singapore.
Passion, creativity - and don't forget per­sistence,
the willingness to learn from one's
mistakes, flexibility, and adaptability. "Entre­preneurship
is not about ego," said Bryan
Abboud '95, a Nebraska native who estab­lished
a software business for the gaming
industry, Global Entertainment, Inc., in the
Netherlands Antilles. Fussner added, "The key
ingredients are motivation, fear, and just going
out there."
But success is not just about personality -
education clearly plays a role.
How does Thunderbird keep encouraging its
entrepreneurs? Three years ago, Sam Garvin
'88, a member of the school's Board of Trustees ,
established the Samuel L. Garvin Distinguished
Professorship in Global Entrepreneurship to
WWW.THUNDERBIRD .EDU 55 / 1 / 2002
55 / 1 / 2002 WWW.TH U NDERB I RD . EDU
serve as a foundation for a Global Entrepren­eurship
Center at Thunderbird. Originally held
by the high ly regarded Dr. Paul johnson, who
just retired, that professorship was held last
year by Dr. james Rothe, a visiting professor
from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
During his stay, Rothe carried out a compre­hensive
benchmarking study of other major
entrepreneu rship programs in the U.S. and
beyond. That study, combined with a stake­holder
survey of studen ts, alumni, faculty, and
staff, has helped the school defi ne the future
direction of its entrepreneursh ip program: a
program that wi ll include new courses, an
entrepreneurship focus area, internship oppor­tunities,
and other partnership programs.
Thunderbird is now seeki ng an expert who
can accept th at professorship and guide its
global entrepreneu rship program toward even
greater prominence.
In 2001. Thunderbi rd was also awarded a
grant by the Kauffman Entrepreneurship Intern­sh
ip Program. The Kauffman Center for Entre­preneurial
Leadership at the Ewing Marina
are part of
process. "
Kauffman Foundation pro­vides
grants that allow stu­dents
to undertake paid
internships in small start-up
companies. Competition for
such grants is intense and it
speaks well of both the School and Dr. johnson
that Thunderbird was selected for the program.
So, how did their Thunderbird education
help prior T-birds adlieve entrepreneuri al suc­cess?
Cameron put it this way: "Thunderbird
was my insp iration I I met people ea rly on who
had started their own businesses. Seeing other
people living their dreams convinced me that if
they can do it, so can I, both on a personal and
on a business leveL"
In Abboud's case, it was the cultural tra ining
he received at Thunderb ird th at helped him
identify the Netherlands Anti ll es as a country
that had the teclln ical infrastructure and legal
system he was looking for. He also credits
Thunderbird with providing the networking
and negotiation skills that enabled him to sur­mount
language and cultural barriers on the
is land. Today, his company employs 40 people
in Cura